UC-NRLF 


UNIVERSITY  FARM 


QC815 
US' 


THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

ITS  HISTORY,  ACTIVITIES 
AND    ORGANIZATION 


THE  INSTITUTE  FOR  GOVERNMENT  RESEARCH 

Washington,  D.  C. 

The  Institute  for  Government  Research  is  an  association  of 
citizens  for  cooperating  with  public  officials  in  the  scientific 
study  of  government  with  a  view  to  promoting  efficiency  and 
economy  in  its  operations  and  advancing  the  science  of  ad- 
ministration. It  aims  to  bring  into  existence  such  informa- 
tion and  materials  as  will  aid  in  the  formation  of  public  opin- 
ion and  will  assist  officials,  particularly  those  of  the  national 
government,  in  their  efforts  to  put  the  public  administration 
upon  a  more  efficient  basis. 

To  this  end,  it  seeks  by  the  thoroughgoing  study  and  exam- 
ination of  the  best  administrative  practice,  public  and  private, 
American  and  foreign,  to  formulate  those  principles  which  lie 
at  the  basis  of  all  sound  administration,  and  to  determine  their 
proper  adaptation  to  the  specific  needs  of  our  public  adminis- 
tration. 

The  accomplishment  of  specific  reforms  the  Institute  recog- 
nizes to  be  the  task  of  those  who  are  charged  with  the  respon- 
sibility of  legislation  and  administration;  but  it  seeks  to  assist, 
by  scientific  study  and  research,  in  laying  a  solid  foundation  of 
information  and  experience  upon  which  such  reforms  may  be 
successfully  built. 

While  some  of  the  Institute's  studies  find  application  only  in 
the  form  of  practical  cooperation  with  the  administrative  of- 
ficers directly  concerned,  many  are  of  interest  to  other  admin- 
istrators and  of  general  educational  value.  The  results  of 
such  studies  the  Institute  purposes  to  publish  in  such  form  as 
will  insure  for  them  the  widest  possible  utilization. 

Officers 

Frank  J.  Goodnow, 

Vice-Chairman 


Robert  S.  Brookings, 

Chairman 

James  F.  Curtis, 

Secretary 


Frederick  Strauss, 

Treasurer 


Edwin  A.  Alderman 
Robert  S.   Brookings 
James  F.  Curtis 
R.  Fulton  Cutting 
Frederic  A.  Delano 
Henry  S.  Dennison 
George  Eastman 
Raymond  B.  Fosdick 
Felix  Frankfurter 


Trustees 

Edwin  F.  Gay 
Frank  J.  Goodnow 
Jerome  D.  Greene 
Arthur  T.  Hadley 
Herbert  C.  Hoover 
David  F.  Houston 
A.  Lawrence  Lowell 
Samuel  Mather 
Richard   B.   Mellon 

Director 
W.   F.   Willoughby 

Editor 
F.  W.  Powell 


Charles  D.  Norton 
Martin  A.  Ryerson 
Frederick  Strauss 
Silas  H.  Strawn 
William  H.  Taft 
Ray  Lyman  Wilbur 
Robert  S.  Woodward 


INSTITUTE  FOR  GOVERNMENT   RESEARCH 
SERVICE  MONOGRAPHS 

OF   THE 

UNITED  STATES  GOVERNMENT 
No.  9 


THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

ITS  HISTORY,  ACTIVITIES 
AND  ORGANIZATION 


BY 

GUSTAVUS  A.  WEBER 


D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  LONDON 

1922 


COPYRIGHT,  1922,  BY 
THE  INSTITUTE  FOR  GOVERMENT  RESEARCH 


FEINTED    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES    OF    AMERICA 


PUBLICATIONS  OF  THE 
INSTITUTE  FOR  GOVERNMENT  RESEARCH 


STUDIES  IN  ADMINISTRATION 

The  System  of  Financial  Administration  of  Great  Britain 
By  W.  F.  Willoughby,  W.  W.  Willoughby,  and  S.  M.  Lindsay 
The  Budget 

By  Rene  Stourm 

T.   Plazinski,  Translator;   W.   F.   McCaleb,  Editor 
The  Canadian  Budgetary  System 

By  H.  G.  Villard  and  W.  W.  Willoughby 
The  Problem  of  a  National  Budget 

By  W.  F.  Willoughby 
The  Movement  for  Budgetary  Reform  in  the  States 

By  W.  F.  Willoughby 
Teacher's  Pension  Systems  in  the  United  States 

By   Paul    Studensky 

Organized  Efforts  for  the  Improvement  of  Methods  of  Ad- 
ministration in  the  United  States 
By  Gustavus  A,  Weber 
The  Federal  Service:    A  Study  of  the  System  of  Personal 

Administration  of  the  United  States  Government 
By  Lewis  Mayers 

The    System    of    Financial    Administration    of    the    United 
States   (In  Preparation) 

PRINCIPLES  OF  ADMINISTRATION 

Principles  Governing  the  Retirement  of  Public  Employees 

By  Lewis  Meriam 
Principles   of  Government  Purchasing 

By  Arthur  G.  Thomas 
Principles   of   Government  Accounting  and  Reporting 

By  Francis  Oakey,  C.  P.  A. 
Principles  of   Personnel   Administration 

By  Arthur  W.  Procter 

SERVICE    MONOGRAPHS    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES 

GOVERNMENT 
The  Geological  Survey 
The  Reclamation  Service 
The  Bureau  of  Mines 
The  Alaskan  Engineering  Commission 
The  Tariff  Commission 

The  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education 
The  Federal  Trade  Commission 
The   Steamboat-Inspection   Service 
The  National  Park  Service 
The  Public  Health  Service 
The  Weather  Bureau 
The  Employee's  Compensation  Commission 


FOREWORD 

The  first  essential  to  efficient  administration  of  any  enter- 
prise is  full  knowledge  of  its  present  make-up  and  operation. 
Without  full  and  complete  information  before  them,  as  to 
existing  organization,  personnel,  plant,  and  methods  of  oper- 
ation and  control,  neither  legislators  nor  administrators  can 
properly  perform  their  functions. 

The  greater  the  work,  the  more  varied  the  activities  en- 
gaged in,  and  the  more  complex  the  organization  employed, 
and  more  imperative  becomes  the  necessity  that  this  informa- 
tion shall  be  available — and  available  in  such  a  form  that  it 
can  readily  be  utilized. 

Of  all  undertakings,  none  in  the  United  States,  and  few,  if 
any,  in  the  world,  approach  in  magnitude,  complexity,  and 
importance  that  of  the  national  government  of  the  United 
States.  As  President  Taft  expressed  it  in  his  message  to  Con- 
gress of  January  17,  1912,  in  referring  to  the  inquiry  being 
made  under  his  direction  into  the  efficiency  and  economy  of  the 
methods  of  prosecuting  public  business,  the  activities  of  the 
national  government  "are  almost  as  varied  as  those  of  the  en- 
tire business  world.  The  operations  of  the  government  affect 
the  interest  of  every  person  living  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  United  States.  Its  organization  embraces  stations  and 
centers  of  work  located  in  every  city  and  in  many  local  sub- 
divisions of  the  country.  Its  gross  expenditures  amount  to 
billions  annually.  Including  the  personnel  of  the  military  and 
naval  establishments,  more  than  half  a  million  persons  are  re- 
quired to  do  the  work  imposed  by  law  upon  the  executive 
branch  of  the  government. 

"This  vast  organization  has  never  been  studied  in  detail  as 
one  piece  of  administrative  mechanism.  Never  have  the 
foundations  been  laid  for  a  thorough  consideration  of  the  re- 
lations of  all  its  parts.  No  comprehensive  effort  has  been 
made  to  list  its  multifarious  activities  or  to  group  them  in  such 
a  way  as  to  present  a  clear  picture  of  what  the  government  is 
doing.  Never  has  a  complete  description  been  given  of  the 
agencies  through  which  these  activities  are  performed.  At 

vii 


viii  FOREWORD 

no  time  has  the  attempt  been  made  to  study  all  of  these  activ- 
ities and  agencies  with  a  view  to  the  assignment  of  each  activ- 
ity to  the  agency  best  fitted  for  its  performance,  to  the  avoid- 
ance of  duplication  of  plant  and  work,  to  the  integration  of  all 
administrative  agencies  of  the  government,  so  far  as  may  be 
practicable,  into  a  unified  organization  for  the  most  effective 
and  economical  dispatch  of  public  business." 

To  lay  the  basis  for  such  a  comprehensive  study  of  the  or- 
ganization and  operations  of  the  national  government  as  Pres- 
ident Taft  outlined,  the  Institute  for  Government  Research 
has  undertaken  the  preparation  of  a  series  of  monographs,  of 
which  the  present  study  is  one,  giving  a  detailed  description  of 
each  of  the  fifty  or  more  distinct  services  of  the  government. 
These  studies  are  being  vigorously  prosecuted,  and  it  is  hoped 
that  all  services  of  the  government  will  be  covered  in  a  com- 
paratively brief  space  of  time.  Thereafter,  revisions  of  the 
monographs  will  be  made  from  time  to  time  as  need  arises,  to 
the  end  that  they  may,  as  far  as  practicable,  represent  current 
conditions. 

These  monographs  are  all  prepared  according  to  a  uniform 
plan.  They  give:  first,  the  history  of  the  establishment  and 
development  of  the  service ;  second,  its  functions,  described 
not  in  general  terms,  but  by  detailing  its  specific  activities ; 
third,  its  organization  for  the  handling  of  these  activities; 
fourth,  the  character  of  its  plant;  fifth,  a  compilation  of,  or 
reference  to,  the  laws  and  regulations  governing  its  operations ; 
sixth,  financial  statements  showing  its  appropriations,  expen- 
ditures and  other  data  for  a  period  of  years ;  and  finally,  a  full 
bibliography  of  the  sources  of  information,  official  and  private, 
bearing  on  the  service  and  its  operations. 

In  the  preparation  of  these  monographs  the  Institute  has 
kept  steadily  in  mind  the  aim  to  produce  documents  that  will 
be  of  direct  value  and  assistance  in  the  administration  of  public 
affairs.  To  executive  officials  they  offer  valuable  tools  of  ad- 
ministration. Through  them,  such  officers  can,  with  a  min- 
imum of  effort,  inform  themselves  regarding  the  details^  not 
only  of  their  own  services,  but  of  others  with  whose  facilities, 
activities,  and  methods  it  is  desirable  that  they  should  be  fa- 
miliar. Under  present  conditions  services  frequently  engage 
in  activities  in  ignorance  of  the  fact  that  the  work  projected 
has  already  been  dorr,*,  or  is  in  process  of  execution  by  other 
services.  Many  cases  exist  where  one  service  could  make  ef- 
fective use  of  the  organization,  plant  or  results  of  other  serv- 


FOREWORD  ix 

ices  had  they  knowledge  that  such  facilities  were  in  existence. 
With  the  constant  shifting  of  directing  personnel  that  takes 
place  in  the  administrative  branch  of  the  national  government, 
the  existence  of  means  by  which  incoming  officials  may  thus 
readily  secure  information  regarding  their  own  and  other  serv- 
ices is  a  matter  of  great  importance. 

To  members  of  Congress  'the  monographs  should  prove  of 
no  less  value.  At  present  these  officials  are  called  upon  to 
legislate  and  appropriate  money  for  services  concerning  whose 
needs  and  real  problems  they  can  secure  but  imperfect  infor- 
mation. That  the  possession  by  each  member  of  a  set  of 
monographs,  such  as  is  here  projected,  prepared  according  to 
a  uniform  plan,  will  be  a  great  aid  to  intelligent  legislation 
and  appropriation  of  funds  can  hardly  be  questioned. 

To  the  public,  finally,  these  monographs  will  give  that 
knowledge  of  the  organization  and  operations  of  their  gov- 
ernment which  must  be  had  if  an  enlightened  public  opinion 
is  to  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  conduct  of  governmental 
affairs. 

These  studies  are  wholly  descriptive  in  character.  No  at- 
tempt is  made  in  them  to  subject  the  conditions  described  to 
criticism,  nor  to  indicate  features  in  respect  to  which  changes 
might  with  advantage  be  made.  Upon  administrators  them- 
selves falls  responsibility  for  making  or  proposing  changes 
which  will  result  in  the  improvement  of  methods  of  adminis- 
tration. The  primary  aim  of  outside  agencies  should  be  to 
emphasize  this  responsibility  and  facilitate  its  fulfillment. 

While  the  monographs  thus  make  no  direct  recommenda- 
tions for  improvement,  they  cannot  fail  greatly  to  stimulate 
efforts  in  that  direction.  Prepared  as  they  are  according  to  a 
uniform  plan,  and  setting  forth  as  they  do  the  activities,  plant, 
organization,  personnel  and  laws  governing  the  several  serv- 
ices of  the  government,  they  will  automatically,  as  it  were, 
reveal,  for  example,  the  extent  to  which  work  in  the  same  field 
is  being  performed  by  different  services,  and  thus  furnish  the 
information  that  is  essential  to  a  consideration  of  the  great 
question  of  the  better  distribution  and  coordination  of  activi- 
ties among  the  several  departments,  establishments,  and  bu- 
reaus, and  the  elimination  of  duplications  of  plant,  organiza- 
tion and  work.  Through  them  it  will  also  be  possible  to  sub- 
ject any  particular  feature  of  the  administrative  work  of  the 
government  to  exhaustive  study,  to  determine,  for  example, 
what  facilities,  in  the  way  of  laboratories  and  other  plant  and 


x  FOREWORD 

equipment,  exist  for  the  prosecution  of  any  line  of  work  and 
where  those  facilities  are  located ;  or  what  work  is  being  done 
in  any  field  of  administration  or  research,  such  as  the  promo- 
tion, protection  and  regulation  of  the  maritime  interests  of  the 
country,  the  planning  and  execution  of  works  of  an  engineer- 
ing character,  or  the  collection,  compilation  and  publication  of 
statistical  data,  or  what  differences  of  practice  prevail  in  re- 
spect to  organization,  classification,  appointment,  and  promo- 
tion of  personnel. 

To  recapitulate,  the  monographs  will  serve  the  double  pur- 
pose of  furnishing  an  essential  tool  for  efficient  legislation,  ad- 
ministration and  popular  control,  and  of  laying  the  basis  for 
critical  and  constructive  work  on  the  part  of  those  upon  whom 
responsibility  for  such  work  primarily  rests. 

Whenever  possible  the  language  of  official  statements  or  re- 
ports has  been  employed,  and  it  has  not  been  practicable  in  all 
cases  to  make  specific  indication  of  the  language  so  quoted. 


CONTENTS 

OHAPTEB 

FOREWORD 

I.     HISTORY  i 

Early  Organized  Meteorological  Observations   ....  i 

Early  Weather  Forecasts 2 

Creation  of  a  National  Weather  Service 3 

Organization  of  the  Signal  Service  of  the  U.  S.  Army  .  4 
Transfer  of  the  Weather  Bureau  to  the  Department  of 

Agriculture 6 

Development  of  the  Meteorological  Work  of  the  Govern- 
ment        6 

Weather   Observation  and   Forecasts 7 

State  Weather   Services 9 

Special   Weather   Forecast   Services 9 

River  Observations   and  Flood  Warnings  10 

Marine  Meteorological  Work •    .      .      .  10 

West   Indies   Storm  Warnings 13 

International   Cooperation 13 

Aerological    Observations 14 

Meteorological    Studies 14 

Concentration  of  Records 14 

Publications      • 15 

II.    ACTIVITIES  16 

Weather   Reporting   and   Forecasting 17 

Climatological  Work 24 

Work  in  Marine  Meteorology 26 

Work   in  Agricultural   Meteorology 27 

Work  in  Aerology 29 

Reporting  Effects  of  Weather  on  Highways    ....  30 

Reporting  and  Forecasting  River  Stages 30 

Studies  in  Solar  Radiation 32 

Studies   in    Seismology 32 

Studies  in  Volcanology 33 

Maintaining  and  Operating  Telegraph   Lines    ....  34 

Instrument  Equipping  and  Testing 35 

Other  Meteorological   Work 35 

Evaporation  Work 35 

Atmospheric    Moisture 35 

Cyclones  and  Anticlones  of  the  United   States   ...  36 

Treatise  on  Weather  Forecasting 36 

Mountain    Snowfall 36 

Climate  of  Africa 36 

Meteorological    War    Service 36 

xi 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

III.     ORGANIZATION  38 

Administrative  and   Scientific   Division 38 

Stations   and   Accounts   Division 38 

Supplies  Division 39 

Printing    Division 39 

Telegraph    Division 39 

Library 39 

Editorial   Division 39 

Forecast    Division 40 

Forecasting    Division 40 

Climatological  Division 40 

Division  of  Agricultural  Meteorology 41 

Marine   Division 41 

Aerological  Investigations  Division 42 

River  and  Flood  Division 42 

Solar  Radiation  Investigations  Division 42 

Seismological  Investigations  Division 43 

Instrument  Division 4_4 

Stations  ^ 44 

APPENDIX 

1.  Outline  of  Organization 47 

2.  Classification  of  Activities 54 

3.  Publications 56 

4.  Laws 58 

5.  Financial    Statement 68 

6.  Bibliography 71 

Index 83 


THE  WEATHER  BUREAU:  ITS 

HISTORY,  ACTIVITIES,  AND 

ORGANIZATION 

CHAPTER  I 
HISTORY 

The  United  States  Weather  Bureau  was  originally  a  branch 
of  the  Signal  Service,  later  the  Signal  Corps  of  the  U.  S. 
Army,  whence  it  was  transferred  on  July  i,  1891  to  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture. 

Weather  observations,  whether  made  for  the  purpose  of 
forecasting,  for  the  collection  of  climatic  data,  or  for  the 
discovery  of  laws  governing  atmospheric  phenomena,  require 
the  cooperation  of  a  large  army  of  collaborators  scattered  over 
an  extensive  area.  In  the  United  States  there  are  at  present 
about  6000  meteorological  stations  at  which  over  two  and  one- 
half  million  observations  are  made  every  year,  mostly  by 
volunteers  who  receive  no  compensation  for  this  service. 
It  is  estimated  that  there  are  31,000  meteorological  stations 
throughout  the  world. 

Early  Organized  Meteorological  Observations.  The  first 
record  of  organized  meteorological  observations  dates  back  to 
1654  when  the  Duke  of  Tuscany  distributed  meteorological 
instruments  and  secured  the  cooperation  of  several  observers 
in  Italy  and  adjacent  countries.  These  records  were  kept 
up  for  about  thirteen  years.  This  effort  was  followed  during 
the  next  century  by  similar  ones  in  France,  England,  and 
Germany.  The  first  comprehensive  collection  of  meteorolog- 


2  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

ical  observations  prior  to  the  nineteenth  century  was  made 
from  1780  to  1792  by  the  Meteorological  Society  of  the  Pal- 
atinate, which  covered  eleven  countries,  including  observa- 
tions at  two  points  in  the  United  States.  The  records  of  these 
observations  have  been  preserved. 

In  the  United  States  the  first  steps  for  organized  meteorolog- 
ical observations  were  taken  in  1817  by  Josiah  Meigs,  Com- 
missioner-General of  the  Land  Office,  who  established  a  sys- 
tem of  tri-daily  observations  at  the  various  land  offices. 
In  1819,  the  Surgeon-General  of  the  Army  also  began  a 
system  of  meteorological  observations  at  military  posts 
throughout  the  country.  The  Patent  Office  in  1841  and  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  in  1847  inaugurated  systems  of  or- 
ganized observations.  The  Engineer  Corps  of  the  U.  S.  Army 
also  recorded  meteorological  observations.  State  authorities 
in  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  engaged  in  such  work  in  1825 
and  1837  respectively. 

Early  Weather  Forecasts.  With  the  meteorological  data 
thus  accumulated,  the  pioneers  of  meteorology  in  the  United 
States,  Redfield,  Coffin,  Espy,  Loomis,  Maury,  and  others, 
were  enabled  to  study  the  characteristics  of  storms  and  other 
meteorological  phenomena  in  this  country,  to  observe  and  es- 
tablish the  progressive  movement  of  atmospheric  disturbances 
from  west  to  east  or  from  southwest  to  northeast,  and  to  point 
out  the  practicability  of  forecasting  the  approach  of  such 
disturbances  by  telegraphing  simultaneous  observations  to  the 
forecasters.  The  first  published  weather  forecasts  were  based 
on  telegraphic  simultaneous  observations  inaugerated  in  1849 
by  Prof.  Henry  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  By  an  ar- 
rangement with  the  telegraph  companies,  each  local  operator 
gave  to  his  division  superintendent  and  the  local  newspapers 
a  statement  of  the  temperature,  wind,  and  weather,  and  all  of 
them  were  telegraphed  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  where 
they  were  daily  exhibited  on  a  large  wall  map  until  the  year 
1 86 1.  These  reports  were  frequently  used  by  Prof. 


HISTORY  3 

Henry  to  predict  or  show  the  possibility  of  predicting  storms 
and  weather ;  a  matter  that  he  had  frequently  urged  on  the  at- 
tention of  Congress.  The  advent  of  the  Civil  War  put  an 
end  to  this  telegraphic  service. 

The  plans  for  the  present  Weather  Bureau  were  originated 
in  part  by  Prof.  Cleveland  Abbe,  director  of  the  Mitchell 
Astronomical  Observatory  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  who  during 
the  years  1868  to  1870  gave  a  concrete  demonstration  of  the 
practicability  of  rendering  a  definite  daily  service  in  the  fore- 
casting of  the  weather.  Under  the  auspices  of  the  Cincinnati 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  with  the  cooperation  of  the  West- 
ern Union  Telegraph  Company,  the  observations  of  about  thirty 
stations,  beginning  on  September  i,  1869,  were  daily  collected 
by  telegraph,  and  a  synoptic  chart  was  prepared  on  which 
weather  forecasts  or  "probabilities"  for  a  short  period  were 
based. 

Creation  of  a  National  Weather  Service.  In  1869,  Col.  A. 
J.  Myer,  then  at  the  head  of  the  U.  S.  Signal  Service,  in  sketch- 
ing  out  a  course  of  usefulness  for  his  organization  in  peace 
time,  suggested  to  the  Secretary  of  War  a  scheme  of  weather 
reports  and  storm  signals,  which,  however,  could  not  be  car- 
ried out  in  the  absence  of  legislative  authority. 

About  that  time  Prof.  I.  A.  Lapham,  a  scientist  of  Mil- 
waukee, one  of  Prof.  Abbe's  cooperating  observers,  submitted 
a  petition  to  the  Chicago  Academy  of  Science  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  system  of  storm  warnings  for  Lake  Michigan. 
When  this  petition  was  handed  for  signature  to  Hon.  H.  E. 
Paine,  a  member  of  Congress  from  Wisconsin,  he  induced 
Prof.  Lapham  to  supplant  the  petition  by  one  addressed  to 
Congress  asking  for  a  National  Weather  Service.  The  new 
petition  was  endorsed  by  many  scientists,  trade  bodies,  and 
other  organizations,  and  presented  to  Congress.  Gen.  Paine 
introduced  a  bill  providing  for  the  establishment  of  a  weather 
service  as  a  part  of  the  Military  Signal  Service. 

This  bill,  which  was  in  the  form  of  a  Joint  Resolution,  was 


4  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

approved  February  9,  1870  (16  Stat.  L.,  369).  It  provided 
"for  taking  meteorological  observations  at  the  military  sta- 
tions in  the  interior  of  the  continent  and  at  other  points  in 
the  states  and  Territories  of  the  United  States,  and  for  giving 
notice  on  the  northern  lakes  and  at  the  seacoast,  by  magnetic 
telegraph  and  marine  signals,  of  the  approach  and  force  of 
storms." 

Organization  of  the  Signal  Service  of  the  U.  S.  Army. 
This  new  work  was  made  a  function  of  the  Signal  Service 
of  the  U.  S.  Army.  The  Signal  Service  at  that  time  con- 
sisted of  a  Chief  Signal  Officer,  with  the  rank  of  Colonel,  a 
number  of  officers  detailed  from  other  branches  of  the  Army, 
and  men  enlisted  specially  for  that  service. 

Being  a  military  service,  the  work  of  observation  and  gen- 
eral administration  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  officers  and 
the  enlisted  men  of  the  Signal  Service,  but  the  higher  technical 
work  from  the  beginning  was  directed  and  performed  in  a 
large  measure  by  civilians,  at  the  head  of  whom  was  Prof. 
Abbe.  The  observing  stations  were  manned  by  sergeants, 
corporals,  and  privates  of  the  Signal  Service.  The  forecast- 
ing of  the  weather  was  originally  done  by  civilians  only,  but 
later,  at  times  by  civilians  and  at  times  by  commissioned 
officers.  The  meteorological  research  work  in  what  became 
known  as  the  "study  room,"  and  the  work  of  testing,  per- 
fecting, and  standardizing  meteorological  instruments  and  im- 
proving methods  of  observation  was  mainly  performed  by 
civilian  scientists. 

The  weather  service  work  of  the  new  organization  de- 
manded a  large  number  of  men  familiar  with  observational, 
theoretic,  and  practical  meteorology.  The  commissioned  of- 
ficers detailed  to  Signal  Service  work  were  required  to  acquire 
meteorological  knowledge  by  studying  the  available  literature 
and  consulting  with  and  receiving  instruction  from  leading 
meteorologists. 

For  the  education  of  observers  (enlisted  men  of  the  Signal 


HISTORY  5 

Service)  a  school  of  meteorology  was  added  to  the  existing 
school  of  instruction  in  telegraphy  and  military  signaling  lo- 
cated at  Fort  Whipple  (now  Fort  Myer),  Virginia,  the  in- 
struction of  the  observers  consisting  of  courses  in  military 
tactics,  signaling,  telegraphy,  telegraphic  line  construction, 
electricity,  meteorology,  and  practical  work  in  meteorological 
observation.  Later,  in  1882,  a  course  for  commissioned  of- 
ficers, covering  meteorology,  mathematics,  electricity  and  lab- 
oratory work,  was  added  to  this  school.  This  training  school 
was  abolished  by  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War  in  1886. 
After  that  time  the  work  of  training  observers  was  relegated 
to  the  observer-sergeants  at  the  various  stations.  Much  at- 
tention was  also  given  to  the  extension  of  meteorological  in- 
struction in  high  schools  and  colleges,  with  the  view  of  re- 
cruiting observers  from  graduates  who  had  taken  such 
courses. 

On  June  16,  1880  an  appropriation  act  was  passed  (21  Stat. 
L.,  259)  having  a  provision  that  "the  Chief  Signal  Officer 
shall  have  the  rank  and  pay  of  a  brigadier-general."  After 
this  the  title  "Signal  Service"  was  changed  to  "Signal  Corps," 
although  both  titles  appeared  in  subsequent  legislation.  The 
Signal  Corps  then  consisted  of  a  Chief  Signal  Officer  with  the 
rank  of  Brigadier  General,  second  lieutenants  who  had  been 
advanced  from  the  ranks  of  observer-sergeants,  and  the  men 
who  had  enlisted  in  the  Signal  Corps  with  the  understanding 
that  they  were  to  remain  in  that  service  and  who  were  trained 
at  the  Military  School  at  Fort  Myer.  Other  officers  on 
duty  with  the  Signal  Corps  were  temporarily  detailed  from 
other  branches  of  the  Army.  In  addition,  a  force  of  civilian 
scientists  was  employed  as  above  mentioned.  When  the 
Weather  Service  was  transferred  to  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture in  1891,  the  commissioned  officers  remained  in  the  Sig- 
nal Corps  of  the  Army,  which  was  divorced  from  the  Weather 
Service,  but  nearly  all  the  enlisted  men  were  discharged  and 
appointed  to  civilian  positions  in  the  Weather  Bureau,  the 
civilian  scientists  being  also  transferred. 


6  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

Transfer  of  the  Weather  Bureau  to  the  Department  of 
Agriculture.  The  Weather  Service  was  originally  designed 
for  the  benefit  of  navigation  on  the  sea  coast  and  on  the  Great 
Lakes.  Soon  after  its  creation,  however,  its  benefits  also  be- 
came appreciated  in  the  interior  districts  by  merchants  and 
shippers,  by  navigators  on  the  great  rivers  of  the  central  val- 
leys, and  by  railroad  companies.  Special  warnings  and  re- 
ports on  climatic  conditions  were  demanded  by  farmers.  In 
fact,  within  a  few  years  after  its  creation,  the  observations, 
forecasts,  and  warnings  of  the  National  Weather  Service, 
were  utilized  wherever  industry  or  transportation  was  in  any 
degree  dependent  upon  the  weather.  But,  while  the  work  of 
the  Weather  Service  was  primarily  devoted  to  responding  to 
these  daily  needs  of  the  public,  it  was  also  giving  attention  to 
the  needs  of  climatology  and  to  development  along  the  lines 
of  higher  scientific  work  necessary  to  assure  advancement  in 
the  art  of  weather  prediction. 

As  the  science  of  meteorology  developed  and  as  the  de- 
mands of  commerce,  agriculture,  and  navigation  with  regard 
to  warnings  of  storms,  frosts,  and  other  atmospheric  disturb- 
ances and  floods  increased,  the  urgent  need  of  a  new  organiza- 
tion, devoid  of  militarism,  and  with  a  more  real  scientific 
status,  became  apparent.  This  necessity  was  brought  to  the 
attention  of  Congress,  and  accordingly,  on  October  i,  1890, 
an  act  was  approved  (26  Stat.  L.,  653)  transferring  the 
Weather  Service  of  the  Signal  Corps  to  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  on  July  i,  1891,  and  thus  creating  an  independent 
bureau  devoted  to  the  sole  purpose  of  a  scientific  meteorolog- 
ical agency  and  divorced  from  all  military  features.  The 
transfer  became  effective  July  i,  1891. 

Development  of  the  Meteorological  Work  of  the  Govern- 
ment. The  observation  stations  of  the  U.  S.  Signal  Service 
were  located  throughout  the  United  States,  in  the  principal 
cities,  at  important  lake  and  seaports  and  at  military  posts,  the 
locations  being  selected  chiefly  on  account  of  their  advantage 


HISTORY  7 

for  forecast  and  storm  warning  purposes  rather  than  for  cli- 
matological  reasons.  Observations  were  made  of  the  actual 
maximum  and  minimum  temperature,  the  humidity  of  the  air, 
the  barometric  pressure,  the  rainfall,  the  direction  and  velocity 
of  the  wind,  the  kind  of  clouds  and  the  direction  of  their 
movement,  and  the  state  of  the  weather,  whether  clear,  fair, 
cloudy,  etc.,  much  as  is  being  done  at  the  present  day. 

Weather  Observations  and  Forecasts.  The  first  meteorolog- 
ical observations  of  the  new  weather  service  were  made  on 
November  i,  1870.  Until  December  31,  1884  two  sets  of 
observations  were  made:  One  set,  for  telegraphic  purposes, 
consisted  of  observations  taken  simultaneously  at  all  stations, 
and  the  other  consisted  of  observations  made  for  climatic  pur- 
poses. 

The  telegraphic  observations  were  begun  November  i,  1870, 
at  7:35  A.  M.,  4:35  P.  M.,  and  n  135  P.  M.,  Washington  time. 
On  August  25,  1872  the  time  of  the  night  observation  was 
changed  to  u  p.  M.,  and  on  November  i,  1879,  the  time  of  the 
other  two  telegraphic  observations  was  changed  to  7  A.  M.  and 
3  P.  M.,  Washington  time.  On  January  i,  1887,  75th  meridian 
time  was  substituted  for  Washington  time,  and  the  time  of  the 
night  observation  was  changed  from  n  P.M.  to  10  P.M. 
Since  July  i,  1888,  only  two  observations  are  taken  each  day, 
at  8.  A.  M  and  8  p.  M.,  75th  meridian  time. 

Observations  not  telegraphed,  but  taken  for  climatic  pur- 
poses were  taken  at  7  A.  M.,  2  p.  M.,  and  9  p.  M.,  local  time, 
from  January  i,  1871  to  June  30,  iSSi.  Additional  daily 
observations  were  taken  at  noon,  local  time,  from  February 
23,  1873  to  December  31,  1879.  Observations  at  Washington 
time,  but  not  telegraphed,  were  taken  daily  at  n  A.  M.  from 
January  i,  1880  to  December  31,  1884,  and  at  7  p.  M.  from 
July  i,  1 88 1  to  December  31,  1884.  After  the  year  1884  the 
special  observations  for  climatic  purposes  were  discontinued 
because  the  general  introduction  of  self-registering  instru- 
ments for  climatic  and  other  scientific  data  had  by  that  time 
obviated  the  necessity  for  taking  them. 


8  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

The  telegraphic  observations  on  which  weather  predictions 
were  based  were  charted  in  Washington,  where  synopses  of  the 
actual  conditions  and  forecasts  for  various  sections  were  pre- 
pared and  published.  At  a  number  of  the  principal  stations 
the  synopses  and  forecasts  were  printed,  and  copies  were  dis- 
tributed by  mail  to  the  rural  districts. 

The  first  synoptic  weather  chart  was  issued  on  January  i, 
1871,  and  the  regular  published  weather  predictions  began 
February  19,  1871.  These  predictions  were  originally  called 
"probabilities,"  and  were  made  three  times  daily  for  such  ele- 
ments and  periods  in  advance  as  seemed  warranted  by  the 
maps,  and  for  eight  geographical  districts.  Beginning  with 
October,  1872  predictions  were  regularly  made  for  twenty- 
four  hours  in  advance  and  for  nine  districts.  In  1874  they 
began  to  be  made  for  eleven  districts  and  for  four  elements, 
namely,  weather,  wind,  pressure,  and  temperature.  No  ma- 
terial change  was  made  until  July,  1885,  when  predictions 
were  made  for  thirty-two  hours  in  advance.  Beginning  with 
May,  1886,  predictions  have  been  made  by  states  and  parts  of 
states  instead  of  districts.  Since  July,  1888  predictions  have 
been  made  thirty-six  hours  in  advance,  and  beginning  August 
i,  1898  forecasts  based  on  the  evening  reports  have  been 
regularly  made  for  forty-eight  hours  in  advance.  The  term 
"probabilities"  as  applied  to  predictions  was  changed  to  "in- 
dications" on  December  25,  1876,  and  this  was  changed 
on  April  I,  1889  to  "forecasts"  which  term  is  still  in 
use. 

Until  1881  official  weather  forecasts  were  made  only  at 
the  central  office  in  Washington.  In  that  year  and  during 
part  of  1882  the  observer  at  New  York  was  permitted  to  make 
and  publish  local  forecasts.  The  present  system  of  local  fore- 
casts was  not  begun  until  1890,  when  officers  were  assigned 
to  St.  Paul  and  San  Francisco  to  make  forecasts  for  their 
respective  vicinities.  The  system  of  district  forecasts  was  be- 
gun in  1894  when  Chicago  was  established  as  a  forecast  center. 
At  present  there  are  five  forecast  districts,  including  that  cen- 


HISTORY  9 

tered  in  Washington,  and  nearly  every  observer  is  authorized 
to  make  local  forecasts. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  daily  weather  forecasts,  a  sys- 
tem of  storm  and  wind  signals  was  inaugurated,  as  a  result  of 
an  appropriation  act  approved  June  10,  1872  (17  Stat.  L., 
366)  which  provided:  "For  expenses  of  storm  signals  an- 
nouncing the  probable  approach  and  force  of  storms  through- 
out the  United  States  for  the  benefit  of  commerce  and  agri- 
culture" ;  and  "that  the  Secretary  of  War  be  ...  authorized 
and  required  to  provide  in  the  systems  of  observation  and  re- 
ports in  charge  of  the  Chief  Signal  Officer  for  such  stations, 
reports  and  signals  as  may  be  found  necessary  for  the  benefit 
of  agriculture  and  commercial  interests." 

State  Weather  Services.  In  April,  1881  steps  were  taken 
by  the  Chief  Signal  Officer  to  encourage  the  establishment  and 
secure  the  cooperation  of  weather  services  in  the  several  states, 
mostly  for  the  purpose  of  taking  climatological  observations 
and  for  extending  the  distribution  of  official  forecasts  and 
warnings  of  the  National  Weather  Service.  Two  such  ser- 
vices had  already  been  privately  established  in  Iowa  and  Mis- 
souri, the  former  having  received  some  state  aid.  These  ef- 
forts met  with  such  success  that  within  a  few  years'  nearly 
every  state  and  territory  had  established  such  a  service. 

In  1887,  when  the  National  Weather  service  began  the  issue 
of  weekly  weather  crop  bulletins,  the  observers  of  the  state 
weather  services  were  mainly  depended  upon  for  the  weather 
crop  reports  on  which  the  statements  in  the  bulletins  were 
based.  In  time,  these  services  gradually  lost  their  character 
as  state  weather  services,  and  their  operation  and  control 
came  entirely  under  the  National  Weather  Bureau. 

Special  Weather  Forecast  Services.  In  September,  1881  the 
system  of  cotton  belt  observations  and  reports,  and  later  in 
the  same  year,  special  warnings  for  the  benefit  of  the  sugar 
interests  were  inaugurated.  These  were  followed  by  other 
similar  special  services  which  are  mentioned  in  the  chapter  on 
activities. 


io  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

In  1888  the  cold-wave  flag  and  many  other  weather  signal 
devices  were  introduced,  all  of  which  were  eventually  reduced 
to  a  simple  system  of  flag  signals,  now  called  "weather  flags." 

In  1902  it  became  possible,  by  means  of  wireless  telegraphy, 
to  send  daily  forecasts  of  the  weather  to  vessels  at  sea,  a  serv- 
ice which  continues  to  the  present  time  with  the  cooperation 
of  the  Navy  Department. 

Finally,  in  1908,  the  Weather  Bureau  began  the  issuing  of 
forecasts  of  a  week  to  ten  days  in  advance,  these  forecasts  be- 
ing chiefly  for  the  benefit  of  farmers,  and  covering  mainly  the 
two  elements  of  temperature  and  precipitation. 

River  Observations  and  Flood  Warnings.  In  1871  the 
work  of  observing  and  reporting  the  stages  of  wrater  in  rivers 
was  made  one  of  the  functions  of  the  Signal  Service,  by  a 
clause  in  an  appropriation  act.  The  first  river  observations 
were  made  in  January,  1872.  These  observations  were  made 
at  regular  meteorological  stations  and  also  at  other  points 
along  the  principal  rivers  and  their  tributaries.  The  observ- 
ers at  the  latter  were  employed  on  part  time  and  were  paid 
usually  for  each  observation,  which  required  but  a  very  small 
part  of  their  time.  These  observations  consisted  of  reading 
the  river  gage  and  measuring  the  precipitation,  and  reporting 
the  results  to  a  central  station. 

Marine  Meteorological  work.  In  addition  to  the  land  ob- 
servations begun  in  November,  1870,  attention  has  been  given, 
almost  from  the  beginning  of  the  Weather  Bureau,  to  the  im- 
portance of  obtaining  meteorological  data  from  vessels  at  sea, 
from  islands  in  the  Atlantic,  particularly  the  West  Indies,  and 
from  foreign  countries. 

In  May,  1871,  circulars  were  sent  out  to  navigators  and 
vessel  owners  requesting  tri-daily  simultaneous  observations 
at  sea,  to  be  transmitted  to  the  Weather  Bureau  whenever  the 
vessels  arrived.  These  efforts  met  with  considerable  response. 
The  results  of  the  observations  were  used  in  the  study  of  marine 
meteorology  and  also  in  the  preparation  of  a  daily  weather 
chart  for  the  northern  hemisphere.  In  1887  all  marine  meteor- 


HISTORY  ii 

ological  work  under  the  supervision  of  the  Signal  Service  was 
transferred  to  the  Hydrographic  Office  of  the  U.  S.  Navy 
Department. 

On  June  24,  1904  the  President  of  the  United  States  ap- 
pointed an  interdepartmental  board,  consisting  of  representa- 
tives of  the  Departments  of  War,  Navy,  Agriculture,  and 
Commerce  and  Labor  to  consider  the  question  of  wireless  teleg- 
raphy. In  this  connection  it  also  dealt  with  the  question  of 
duplication  of  meteorological  work.  On  July  12,  1904  the 
board  made  its  report,  which  was  approved  by  the  President  on 
July  29,  1904,  the  President  directing  that  the  several  depart- 
ments concerned  put  its  recommendations  into  effect.  The 
recommendations  that  concerned  the  Weather  Bureau  and  its 
work  and  the  meteorological  activities  of  other  departments 
represented  on  the  board  were  as  follows : 

That  the  necessary  steps  be  taken  to  have  the  Weather 
Bureau  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  turn  over  to  the 
Navy  Department  all  coastwise  wireless  telegraph  apparatus 
now  under  its  control,  and  such  material  as  it  may  have  in  its 
possession  which  can  be  utilized  by  the  Bureau  of  Equipment 
of  the  Navy  Department,  and  that  proper  transfers  of  funds 
for  this  purpose  be  made; 

That  the  Weather  Bureau  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
furnish  to  the  Hydrographic  Office  of  the  Navy,  and  to  the 
naval  wireless  telegraph  stations,  or  to  other  portions  of  the 
public  service,  such  meteorological  data  as  it  or  they  may  de- 
sire at  no  cost  to  them; 

That  the  Department  of  Agriculture  shall  continue  the  work 
of  its  meteorological  vessel-reporting  and  storm-warning  sta- 
tions, as  now  constituted  and  provided  for  by  law,  and  con- 
tinue the  control  of  seacoast  telegraph  systems,  except  wire- 
less systems; 

That  all  meteorological  reports  from  vessels  of  war  or  com- 
merce or  other  sailing  craft,  now  being  forwarded  direct  to  the 
Hydrographic  Office  of  the  Navy,  shall  be  forwarded  direct 
to  the  Weather  Bureau,  and  the  control  Q!  gcean.  meteorology 


12  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

be  transferred  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture  which  already 
has  ample  law  for  doing  this  work; 

That  the  estimates  for  the  support  of  the  Hydrographic 
Office  of  the  Navy,  or  any  other  office  of  the  Navy,  for  the 
next  and  succeeding  fiscal  years,  do  not  contain  any  provision 
for  the  making  of  ocean  forecasts,  or  for  the  publication  of 
meteorological  data,  other  than  such  as  may  be  needed  by  the 
hydrographer  of  the  Navy  for  use  on  the  pilot  and  other  charts, 
which  data  shall  be  furnished  by  and  credited  to  the  Weather 
Bureau ; 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  board  that  no  meteorological 
work  need  or  should  be  done  by  any  portion  of  the  Navy  for 
the  purpose  of  publication,  or  for  the  making  of  forecasts  or 
storm  warnings ;  that  all  such  duties,  being  purely  civil,  should 
devolve  upon  the  Weather  Bureau  of  the  Department  of  Ag- 
riculture in  accordance  with  the  organic  act  creating  that  bur- 
eau; 

That  the  wireless  stations  of  the  Navy  Department  shall, 
without  charge  to  the  Agriculture  Department,  receive  and 
promptly  transmit  to  the  ocean  or  to  islands,  or  to  other  places 
where  the  information  can  be  made  useful,  the  storm  warn- 
ings of  the  Weather  Bureau; 

That  the  Navy  Department  shall  request  all  vessels  having 
the  use  of  its  wireless  stations  for  the  receipt  of  messages,  to 
take  daily  meteorological  observations  of  the  weather  when 
within  communicating  range  and  to  transmit  such  observations 
to  the  Weather  Bureau,  through  naval  wireless  stations,  at 
least  once  daily,  and  transmit  observations  oftener  when  there 
is  a  marked  change  in  the  barometer  and  that  there  shall  be 
no  charge  against  the  Agriculture  Department  for  these  ob- 
servations, or  for  the  transmission  thereof. 

The  marine  meteorological  work  of  the  Hydrographic  Of- 
fice of  the  Department  of  the  Navy  was  consequently  trans- 
ferred to  the  Weather  Bureau  on  December  i,  1904,  and  the 
wireless  telegraphy  service  of  the  Weather  Bureau  was  turned 
over  to  the  Department  of  the  Navy. 


HISTORY  13 

West  Indies  Storm  Warnings.  In  1872  three  signal  serv- 
ice stations  were  opened  in  the  West  Indies,  to  which  three 
more  were  added  in  1874.  On  July  7,  1898  Congress  enacted 
a  provision  appropriating  money  for  the  West  Indies  storm 
warnings  service.  This  service  was  established  with  head- 
quarters at  Kingston,  Jamaica,  which  were  later  removed  to 
Havana,  Cuba.  The  first  reports  were  received  August  9, 
1898.  The  headquarters  are  now  at  San  Juan,  Porto  Rico, 
and  the  service  comprises  twenty-two  observation  stations,  of 
which  three  are  at  naval  stations. 

International  Cooperation.  On  November  13,  1871  a  sys- 
tem of  international  exchange  between  the  weather  bureaus  of 
the  Dominion  of  Canada  and  the  United  States  was  inaugu- 
rated thus  extending  the  area  of  the  weather  map  north- 
ward. 

In  1873  the  Chief  Signal  Officer  invited  all  the  nations  in- 
dividually to  cooperate  with  him  in  making  and  collecting  one 
daily  simultaneous  observation.  After  several  of  the  nations 
had  promised  cooperation,  the  plan  was  presented  to  and  was 
approved  by  the  First  International  Congress  of  Meteorologists 
at  Vienna  in  September  of  that  year,  and  steps  were  taken 
to  have  these  observations  made  in  the  several  countries  and 
reported  to  Washington. 

As  a  result  of  this  action,  it  became  possible  to  begin  on 
July  i,  1875  the  publication  of  the  Bulletin  of  International 
Simultaneous  Observations,  to  which  daily  maps  were  added 
in  1877.  It  was  published  for  distribution  among  cooperative 
observers  only,  and  continued  daily  through  1887,  with 
monthly  and  annual  summaries  through  1889.  The  trans- 
fer of  marine  meteorological  work  to  the  Hydrographic  Of- 
fice in  1887  interrupted  this  publication,  and  no  charts  of  sim- 
ilar scope  have  ever  been  prepared  since.  In  1907  the  Fore- 
cast Division  began  making  daily,  in  manuscript,  a  weather 
map  of  the  Northern  Hemisphere,  based  on  telegraphic  re- 
ports from  stations  in  this  country  and  a  small  number  of 
foreign  stations.  This  chart  was  printed  from  the  beginning 


14  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

of  1914  until  interrupted  by  the  World  War.  Its  publication 
in  manuscript  has  been  resumed. 

Aerological  Observations.  Efforts  to  obtain  meteorological 
data  for  the  upper  atmosphere  date  from  the  very  beginning  of 
the  Weather  Bureau.  From  1871  to  1885  occasional  balloon 
observations  of  the  upper  atmosphere  were  made  by  an  aero- 
naut who  had  volunteered  his  services.  On  July  21,  1873  a 
meteorological  station  was  established  on  the  summit  of  Pike's 
Peak,  and  other  stations  were  subsequently  established  at  ele- 
vated points  in  the  United  States.  Extensive  experiments  in 
the  construction  of  kites  were  made  by  the  Weather  Bureau 
in  1895,  and  in  1898  kite  observations  were  made  daily,  as  far 
as  weather  permitted,  at  seventeen  Weather  Bureau  stations 
from  April  to  November.  The  results  have  been  published  in 
Weather  Bulletin  F.  Special  aerological  investigations  were 
initiated  in  November,  1904  at  Mount  Weather,  Virginia, 
this  station  being  later  removed  to  Drexel,  Nebraska.  A 
considerable  extension  of  this  work  was  made  possible  in 
1918  by  an  item  included  in  the  army  appropriation  act  for 
taking  care  of  the  urgent  needs  for  additional  information 
covering  free  air  for  military  operations  during  war,  which 
item  was  transferred  to  the  agricultural  appropriation  act  for 
the  fiscal  year  1919  and  has  since  been  so  carried. 

Meteorological  Studies.  From  time  to  time  special  mete- 
orological studies  and  work  in  allied  fields  was  undertaken^, 
such  as  evaporation,  volcanology,  seismology,  solar  radia- 
tion, etc.,  which  will  be  considered  in  the  chapter  on  activi- 
ties. 

Concentration  of  Records.  In  1873  the  Surgeon  General 
of  the  Army,  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
and  the  Chief  of  Engineers  of  the  United  States  Army  re- 
linquished their  meteorological  work  and  transferred  all  earlier 
records  to  the  Signal  Service.  The  official  climatological  rec- 
ords of  the  country  were  thus  concentrated  in  the  Signal  Serv- 
ice  archives, 


HISTORY  15 

Publications.  On  January  i,  1873  the  Signal  Service  began 
the  issue  of  a  Monthly  Weather  Review,  which  contains 
climatological  data,  results  of  meteorological  studies,  and  other 
similar  information.  Its  publication  continues  to  the  present 
time.  It  now  includes  all  the  features  of  a  general  journal 
of  meteorology,  in  addition  to  current  statistical  information. 


CHAPTER  II 
ACTIVITIES 

The  functions  of  the  United  States  Weather  Bureau  are  de- 
fined in  the  duties  prescribed  for  the  Chief  of  the  Weather 
Bureau  in  the  act  approved  October  i,  1890  (26  Stat.  L.,  653), 
Section  3,  as  follows: 

The  Chief  of  the  Weather  Bureau,  under  the  direction  of 
the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  shall  have  charge  of  forecasting 
the  weather;  the  issue  of  storm  warnings;  the  display  of 
weather  and  flood  signals  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture,  com- 
merce and  navigation;  the  gauging  and  reporting  of  rivers; 
the  maintenance  and  operation  of  seacoast  telegraph  lines  and 
the  collection  and  transmission  of  marine  intelligence  for  the 
benefit  of  commerce  and  navigation ;  the  reporting  of  tempera- 
ture and  rainfall  conditions  for  the  cotton  interests;  the  dis- 
play of  frost,  cold-wave,  and  other  signals;  the  distribution 
of  meteorological  information  in  the  interest  of  agriculture 
and  commerce  and  the  taking  of  such  meteorological  observa- 
tions as  may  be  necessary  to  establish  and  record  the  climatic 
conditions  of  the  United  States,  or  are  essential  for  the  proper 
execution  of  the  foregoing  duties. 

Since  its  creation  in  1870  the  activities  of  the  Weather 
Bureau  have  been  chiefly  devoted  to  the  rendering  of  such 
direct  practical  service  as  would  best  meet  the  immediate  needs 
of  agriculture,  commerce,  and  transportation,  or  what  has  been 
called  "applied  meteorology."  While  the  importance  of  cli- 
matological  data  and  of  technical  investigation  and  study  in 
the  field  of  meteorology  is  recognized,  the  expenditures  of 
time  and  money  by  the  Weather  Bureau  for  such  purposes 
have  been  comparatively  small. 

Meteorological  observations  are  made  by  the  Weather 
Bureau  for  the  purpose  of  forecasting  the  weather,  for  the  ac- 

16 


ACTIVITIES  17 

cumulation  of  climatological  data,  and  for  material  to  be  used 
in  technical  meteorological  study.  They  consist  of  obser- 
vations of  actual  weather  conditions  made  and  recorded  at 
specified  times  by  observers,  and  of  continuous  records  made 
by  self -registering  instruments.  The  former  only  are  used  as 
bases  for  the  weather  forecasts. 

In  addition  to  the  meteorological  work  the  bureau  gives  at- 
tention to  observing  the  stage,  of  the  water  in  rivers  and  is- 
suing of  flood  warnings  and  stage  forecasts,  and  to  studies  in 
solar  radiation,  seismology,  and  volcanology. 

Weather  Reporting  and  Forecasting.  For  the  purpose  of 
weather  forecasting  as  well  as  for  climatological  uses,  ob- 
servations are  regularly  made  at  8.  A.  M  and  8  p.  M.,  75*h 
meridian  time  at  about  two  hundred  stations  in  the  United 
States,  Alaska,  Hawaii,  and  Porto  Rico.  They  consist  of 
readings  of  the  barometer,  dry  and  wet  bulb  thermometers, 
the  anemometer,  the  wind  vane,  the  rain  and  snow  gages,  and 
the  condition  of  the  sky.  All  occasional  phenomena  such  as 
thunderstorms,  fog,  smoke,  halos,  etc.,  are  also  noted. 

For  forecast  purposes  the  observations  are  immediately  tele- 
graphed to  the  central  office  and  to  the  other  forecast  centers, 
the  telegraphic  reports  consisting  of  the  current  temperature, 
atmospheric  pressure,  humidity,  precipitation,  direction  of 
the  wind,  state  of  the  weather,  velocity  of  the  wind,  character, 
quantity  and  movement  of  the  clouds,  maximum  and  minimum 
temperature  since  the  last  observation,  and  other  phenomena 
when  they  occur,  such  as  marked  barometric  changes,  frosts, 
thunderstorms,  high  wind  velocities,  etc.  In  reporting  the  at- 
mospheric pressure,  the  barometric  readings  are  corrected  to 
sea  level,  so  that  all  may  show  pressures  for  the  same  plane. 

Since  the  development  of  radio  telegraphy  it  has  become 
possible  to  supplement  the  telegraphic  reports  from  mainland 
stations  with  reports  made  on  distant  islands  in  the  north 
Pacific  and  in  the  West  Indies  and  on  ships  at  sea.  By  an  ar- 
rangement made  with  steamship  companies,  meteorological  ob- 


i8  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

servations  are  made  on  upward  of  one  hundred  vessels  navi- 
gating the  coastal  waters  of  the  middle  and  south  Atlantic 
states,  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  Caribbean  Sea,  and  the  Pacific 
Coast,  and  transmitted  by  wireless  to  shore  stations,  and 
thence  to  the  central  office  of  the  Weather  Bureau.  The  re- 
ports are  charted  on  the  twice-daily  synoptic  charts  and  serve 
as  an  aid  in  making  forecasts  and  giving  warnings,  as  they 
frequently  give  information  of  sub-tropical  or  ocean  storms 
before  they  can  be  observed  at  the  mainland  stations. 

For  economy  in  transmission,  the  observational  data  from 
the  two  hundred  regular  Weather  Bureau  Stations  to  be  tele- 
graphed for  forecast  purposes,  are  put  into  cipher  according 
to  a  code,  of  which  one  word  indicates  the  value  of  two  and 
sometimes  three  elements,  such  as  barometric  pressure  and 
temperature  in  one  word,  direction  and  velocity  of  the  wind 
and  maximum  or  minimum  temperature  in  another  single 
word,  etc.  By  this  means  an  entire  observation  can  be  ex- 
pressed by  a  telegraphic  cipher  message  of  four  or  five  words, 
which  if  expanded  into  descriptive  language  would  require  from 
thirty  to  forty  words.  The  coding  system  is  so  simple  that 
with  very  little  practice  the  messages  can  be  readily  deciphered 
without  reference  to  a  code  book.  The  work  of  observation, 
calculation,  coding,  and  delivery  for  telegraphic  transmission 
is  done  within  fifteen  minutes,  the  work  of  observation  being 
begun  at  7 145  A.  M.  and  7 145  P.  M.  to  allow  for  this  time 
period. 

The  transmission  of  the  telegraphic  messages  is  done  by 
means  of  a  circuit  system,  which  was  inaugurated  at  the  very 
beginning  of  the  Weather  Service.  By  its  arrangement  the 
various  transmission  lines  are  grouped  into  circuits.  From 
shortly  before  8  A.  M  to  9  130  A.  M.  and  8  P.  M  to  9:30  P.  M., 
the  necessary  telegraphic  lines  in  each  circuit  are  held  open 
for  the  meteorological  dispatches  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other 
business.  When  the  transmission  of  messages  begins,  all  the 
men  on  each  circuit  are  at  hand  with  their  messages  so  that 
the  instant  one  dispatch  is  sent  another  succeeds  it,  until  all 


ACTIVITIES  19 

on  the  circuit  are  disposed  of.  As  the  messages  are  clicked 
the  operator  at  each  station  on  the  circuit  takes  down  all  the 
dispatches  which  pass  over  it.  When  one  circuit  is  through 
with  its  dispatches  another  circuit  joins  the  preceding  one, 
and  its  own  together  with  all  the  accumulated  reports  are  in- 
terchanged, and  so  on.  By  this  "circuit"  system  about  175 
coded  weather  observations  are  reported  to  the  central  office 
in  Washington  twice  daily.  By  the  same  means  140  stations 
connected  directly  with  the  twenty-one  circuits  receive  such 
a  number  of  observations  as  is  adequate  to  their  needs.  In 
addition  to  the  circuit  reports,  daily  observations  are  received 
from  about  forty  other  points  by  special  message  and  cable- 
gram and  about  fifty  from  ships  at  sea  by  wireless. 

With  the  aid  of  these  reports  of  simultaneous  observations, 
weather  forecasts  are  made  twice  each  day  by  five  forecast 
officers,  each  for  a  portion  of  the  United  States  comprised 
within  his  district.  The  forecaster  of  the  eastern  district  of 
the  United  States,  whose  office  is  in  Washington,  has  super- 
vising control  over  forecasts  made  in  all  the  other  districts. 
Daily  forecasts  are  also  made  by  local  forecasters  at  most 
stations  throughout  the  country.  In  addition  to  the  daily 
forecasts,  weekly  forecasts  are  made  of  temperature  and 
weather,  and  special  warnings  are  issued  of  important 
impending  weather  changes  which  seriously  affect  specific 
interests. 

The  telegraphic  reports  of  meteorological  observations  sent 
to  the  district  centers  are  immediately  entered  upon  outline 
maps.  At  the  central  office  five  such  maps  are  made  up.  Map 
A  shows  the  actual  weather  conditions  observed  at  each  sta- 
tion; that  is,  air  pressure,  temperature,  velocity  and  direction 
of  the  wind,  amount  and  areas  of  rainfall,  and  the  state  of  the 
weather.  Maps  B  and  C  show  for  pressure  and  for  tempera- 
ture, respectively,  the  changes  in  twenty-four  hours,  and  the 
departures  from  the  normal.  Map  D  shows  the  amount,  kind, 
and  direction  of  upper  and  lower  clouds  and  the  areas  of  com- 
plete cloudiness.  Map  E  shows  the  wind  velocity  and  direc- 


20  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

tion,  at  the  surface  and  at  various  elevations  in  the  air,  such  as 
250,  500,  1000,  1500,  2,000,  etc.,  meters. 

By  studying  these  maps,  and  by  comparing  the  data  with  re- 
ports of  preceding  observations,  the  forecast  officers  are  en- 
abled to  trace  the  paths  of  storms  and  othei  atmospheric  dis- 
turbances from  the  time  of  their  appearance  to  the  moment  of 
observation  and  to  measure  their  progress;  and  because  of  an 
experience  of  many  years,  they  can  usually  forecast  their 
position  thirty-six  to  forty-eight  hours  in  advance.  These 
daily  forecasts  by  district  forecasters  are  made  at  about  9  130 
in  the  morning  and  in  the  evening,  and  usually  cover  temper- 
ature, wind,  and  general  weather  conditions  for  the  several 
state  units. 

Twice-daily  weather  forecasts  are  also  broadcast  by  radio 
telegraphy  from  a  considerable  number  of  wireless  stations 
maintained  by  the  Post-Office  Department  and  from  private 
wireless  plants  throughout  the  country. 

The  evening  forecasts  are  distributed  mainly  through  the 
various  press  associations  for  publication  in  the  morning 
papers.  The  morning  forecasts  are  given  to  the  evening  pa- 
pers, and  are  telegraphed  to  about  1600  principal  points  for 
further  dissemination  by  telegraph,  telephone,  wireless,  and 
postal  service.  They  are  displayed  by  means  of  temperature 
and  weather  flags  and  printed  on  weather  maps,  bulletins  and 
cards  posted  in  public  places  throughout  the  United  States, 
especially  in  post  offices,  hotels,  stores,  corridors  and  elevators 
of  office  buildings,  railway  stations,  etc. 

The  supervising  forecaster  in  Washington  has  immediate 
supervision  over  the  forecasts  made  in  the  other  districts,  and 
if  he  disagrees  with  the  latter,  he  notifies  the  respective  fore- 
casters in  time  to  enable  them  to  revise  their  forecasts. 

At  the  important  stations  weather  maps  are  printed  con- 
taining the  data  indicated  on  Map  A,  above  mentioned.  These 
maps  are  distributed  by  mail  and  messenger  and  are  displayed 
in  public  places.  In  addition  to  the  data  indicated  by  figures 
and  symbols,  these  maps  contain  a  printed  synoptic  statement 


ACTIVITIES  21 

in  text  of  the  weather  conditions  and  forecasts  for  the  district 
or  localities  in  which  they  are  distributed.  The  work  of  ob- 
serving, coding,  telegraphing,  deciphering,  and  charting  data, 
and  making  and  publishing  the  twice-daily  forecasts  is  accom- 
plished within  a  space  of  two  hours. 

Daily  wireless  forecasts  of  the  wind  and  weather  to  be  ex- 
pected along  the  transatlantic  steamship  lanes  eastward  from 
the  Atlantic  ports  to  the  Grand  Banks  of  Newfoundland  and 
along  the  Atlantic  Coast,  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  in  the 
Carribean  Sea,  for  the  guidance  of  vessel  masters,  are  issued 
each  day  and  are  sent  to  steamship  company  offices  and  trans- 
mitted by  wireless,  with  the  cooperation  of  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment, to  vessels  at  sea.  The  messages  containing  the  forecasts 
also  include  statements  of  actual  weather  conditions  in  such 
detail  that  the  mariners  may  prepare  their  own  weather  charts 
on  outline  maps  furnished  them  by  the  Weather  Bureau.  A 
similar  service  is  also  in  operation  on  the  Pacific  coast  district 
and  the  Great  Lakes. 

Twice-daily  aerial  forecasts  are  made  by  the  district  fore- 
caster in  Washington  for  the  benefit  of  the  aeroplane  services 
of  the  Post  Office,  the  War  and  Navy  Departments,  and  for 
other  aviators.  For  this  purpose  the  country  is  divided  into 
thirteen  districts,  a  forecast  being  made  for  each  district. 
The  forecast  consists  of  a  message  indicating  the  wind 
direction  and  velocity  at  the  surface  and  at  higher  altitudes, 
and  whether  the  wind  and  sky  will  be  favorable  for  fly- 
ing. 

Daily  forecasts  are  also  made  at  nearly  all  the  local  stations, 
such  forecasts  covering  territory  within  a  radius  of  twenty 
miles  of  the  station.  They  consist  of  a  statement  of  the  prob- 
able weather,  temperature,  and  wind,  and,  during  the  winter 
months,  the  probable  minimum  temperature.  These  forecasts 
may  or  may  not  be  in  accord  with  the  district  forecasts,  as  the 
local  forecaster  is  sometimes  in  a  better  position  to  make  a 
forecast  for  his  particular  locality  than  the  district  forecaster 
whose  forecast  is  made  for  a  whole  state  or  a  large  portion  of 


22  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

a  state.  The  local  forecaster  may  even  ignore  a  cold-wave 
warning  if  the  cold  wave  has  already  arrived  in  his  locality 
or  if  he  has  reason  to  think  that  it  will  not  reach  his  local- 
ity. 

The  local  forecasters  at  many  of  the  Weather  Bureau  sta- 
tions also  make  what  are  designated  as  "shippers'  forecasts." 
These  are  regularly  made  during  months  when  temperatures 
are  likely  to  be  injurious  to  shipments  of  perishable  goods 
and  produce.  They  are  made  in  addition  to  the  cold-wave  and 
frost  warnings,  and  indicate  the  approximate  degree  of  cold 
that  is  likely  to  be  experienced  along  various  transportation 
routes. 

All  daily  local  forecasts  must  be  submitted  by  mail  immedi- 
ately to  the  office  in  Washington,  together  with  the  district 
forecasts.  If  they  differ,  the  difference  must  be  underscored. 
These  forecasts  are  later  checked  up  with  the  actual  weather 
conditions  which  follow,  and  a  record  is  kept  of  the  efficiency 
of  each  local  forecaster  as  ascertained  in  this  way.  When 
vacancies  occur  among  the  district  forecasters,  they  are  filled 
by  selection  from  the  ranks  of  those  local  forecasters  who  have 
attained  the  highest  percentage  of  verification  of  their  forecasts. 

The  meteorologists  in  charge  of  the  stations  at  Juneau, 
Alaska,  and  San  Juan,  Porto  Rico,  are  also  authorized  to  make 
district  forecasts.  The  former,  who  receives  reports  from 
points  in  Alaska  and  along  the  Aleutian  Islands  by  telegraph, 
wireless,  and  cable,  makes  forecasts  only  when  the  weather  re- 
ports received  make  it  possible.  The  meteorologist  at  Porto 
Rico,  who  receives  reports  in  the  same  way  from  West  In- 
dian points,  only  gives  warning  of  approaching  hurricanes 
and  other  severe  storms. 

Weekly  forecasts  of  the  general  weather  and  temperature 
conditions  are  made  every  Saturday  for  the  week  beginning  the 
ensuing  Monday.  These  are  made  by  the  forecaster  in  Wash- 
ington for  each  of  the  nine  districts  into  which  the  country  is 
divided.  These  forecasts  indicate  the  general  weather  out- 
look for  the  week,  especially  as  to  rain  and  temperature 


ACTIVITIES  23 

changes,  cold  waves  and  frosts,  being  intended  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  agricultural  and  commercial  interests. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  daily  and  weekly  weather  fore- 
casts, special  warnings  of  hurricanes,  storms,  cold  waves, 
heavy  snows,  and  frost  are  issued  whenever  the  occasion  arises. 
Of  these,  the  warnings  of  storms  and  hurricanes,  issued  for 
the  benefit  of  the  marine  interests,  are  of  the  most  importance. 
Such  warnings  are  displayed  by  means  of  storms  flags  and 
lanterns  at  more  than  300  points  on  the  Great  Lakes  and  along 
the  Atlantic,  Pacific,  and  Gulf  coasts.  For  this  purpose  re- 
ports from  the  West  Indies  and  Central  America  are  especially 
valuable,  as  they  enable  the  Weather  Bureau  to  forecast  with 
great  accuracy  the  approach  of  hurricanes,  which  sometimes 
sweep  the  Gulf  and  Atlantic  coasts  from  July  to  October. 
The  storm  warnings  for  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  East  Gulf 
and  Atlantic  coasts  are  issued  by  the  Washington  forecaster, 
those  for  the  West  Gulf  coast,  by  the  district  forecaster  at  New 
Orleans,  and  those  for  the  Pacific  Coast,  by  the  district  fore- 
caster at  San  Francisco.  It  is  claimed  1  that  "scarcely  a  storm 
of  marked  danger  to  maritime  interests  has  occurred  for 
years  for  which  ample  warnings  have  not  been  issued  from 
twelve  to  twenty- four  hours  in  advance,"  and  that  "the  sail- 
ings of  the  immense  number  of  vessels  in  our  ocean  and  lake 
traffic  are  largely  determined  by  these  warnings.  Such  warn- 
ings displayed  for  a  single  hurricane  are  known  to  have  de- 
tained in  port  on  our  Atlantic  coast  vessels  valued  with  their 
cargoes  at  over  $30,000,000." 

Cold-wave  warnings,  that  is,  warnings  of  sudden  and  de- 
cided weather  changes  to  temperatures  below  the  freezing 
point,  are  issued  by  the  district  forecasters  from  twenty-four 
to  thirty-six  hours  in  advance  throughout  the  threatened 
regions.  The  warnings  are  distributed  by  means  of  the  tele- 
graph, telephone,  and  mail  services  to  all  places  receiving  daily 
forecasts,  and  to  some  additional  points,  and  by  cold-wave 
flags  displayed  at  regular  Weather  Bureau  and  subdisplay  sta- 

1  The  Weather  Bureau,  Williams,  p.  33. 


24  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

tions.  These  are  intended  to  give  warning  for  the  protection 
of  property,  especially  perishable  goods  in  storage  or  transit. 

Frost  warnings  are  issued  primarily  for  the  benefit  of  grow- 
ers of  fruit  and  vegetables  liable  to  injury  by  frost.  They 
are  also  issued  by  the  district  forecasters  whenever  frost  or 
freezing  weather  is  expected  in  regions  where  it  might  be  in- 
jurious to  growing  fruits  or  other  vegetation,  especially  to- 
bacco, sugar,  cranberries,  and  garden  vegetables.  It  is 
claimed  l  that  "the  early  truck  raising  industry,  so  extensively 
carried  on  in  the  regions  bordering  on  the  Gulf  and  south 
Atlantic  coasts  and  in  Florida  ...  is  largely  dependent  for 
its  success  on  the  cooperation  of  the  Weather  Bureau  in  this 
particular,  and  the  growers  of  oranges  and  other  fruits  in 
Florida  and  California  have  received  great  benefit,"  also  that 
"the  deciduous  fruit  districts  of  Washington,  Oregon,  Idaho, 
Utah,  Colorado,  and  throughout  the  east,  rely  upon  the  warn- 
ings of  the  bureau  to  guide  them  in  smudging  and  heating 
their  orchards  on  the  occurrence  of  frost  or  freezing  weather 
during  the  blossoming  period." 

"Fire-weather"  warnings  are  issued  by  district  forecasters 
whenever  such  periods  of  dry  weather  or  winds  are  expected 
as  are  favorable  to  the  inception  or  are  liable  to  facilitate  the 
spread  of  forest  fires.  These  warnings  enable  foresters  in 
Washington,  Oregon,  Idaho,  California,  and  Minnesota,  to 
take  special  precautions  at  such  times. 

In  addition  to  the  forecasts  mentioned  above,  special  fore- 
casts are  made  of  weather  conditions  for  the  guidance  of 
farmers  in  spraying  operations  for  insect  pests  and  fungi 
and  in  the  harvesting  of  hay  and  grain  crops,  for  the  cran- 
berry industry  of  Massachusetts,  New  Jersey,  and  Wisconsin, 
and  for  various  other  industries  that  are  partially  or  wholly 
dependent  on  accurate  forecasts  of  weather  and  temperature 
changes. 

Climatological  Work.     The  observations  made  at  8  A.  M. 
.,  p.  35- 


ACTIVITIES  25 

and  8  p.  M  ,  75th  meridian  time  at  about  200  regular  observa- 
tion stations  are  also  recorded  and  published  for  climatological 
purposes.  In  addition  to  the  observations  made  at  the  spe- 
cified times,  self-registering  instruments  at  nearly  all  these  sta- 
tions are  keeping  a  constant  record  of  the  temperature,  baro- 
metric pressure,  direction  and  velocity  of  the  wind,  sunshine, 
and  rainfall.  These  records  are  made  automatically  on  sheets 
which  revolve  on  drums  operated  by  clock-work. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  stations  with  paid  employees,  the 
Weather  Bureau  has  the  voluntary  services  of  more  than  4500 
cooperative  observers,  so  scattered  throughout  the  United  States 
as  to  furnish  a  fairly  complete  climatological  record  for  every 
part  of  the  country.  These  observers  usually  take  one  ob- 
servation a  day  of  the  maximum  and  minimum  temperature, 
the  rainfall,  state  of  the  sky  and  direction  of  the  wind,  but 
some,  of  the  rainfall  only.  Standard  instruments  and  instru- 
ment shelters  for  this  purpose  are  furnished  by  the  Weather 
Bureau. 

The  observations  made  by  voluntary  observers  are  entered 
in  triplicate  on  original  record  forms  supplied  by  the  Weather 
Bureau,  one  copy  being  retained  by  the  observer,  one  sent 
each  month  to  the  section  center,  and  one  to  the  chief  office 
in  Washington. 

For  the  purpose  of  climatological  observations  and  reports, 
the  country  is  divided  into  forty-two  local  sections,  each  sec- 
tion generally  covering  a  state ;  there  being  a  few  cases  where 
two  or  more  states  are  grouped  into  one  section.  Each  sec- 
tion has  a  central  station  in  charge  of  a  paid  employee  of  the 
Weather  Bureau,  who  has  general  supervision  over  the  ob- 
servational work  of  the  cooperative  stations,  and  receives, 
publishes,  and  distributes  the  climatic  data  for  the  section. 

At  each  section  center  there  is  published  a  monthly  periodi- 
cal entitled  Climatological  Data,  which  contains  a  general 
summary  of  the  weather,  temperature,  humidity,  precipitation, 
wind,  sunshine,  and  cloudiness,  and  mention  of  any  unusual 
meteorological  phenomena;  detailed  tables  of  meteorological 


26  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

observations  from  many  stations  for  each  day  of  the  month, 
and  summary  tables  and  comparisons  with  previous  years; 
also  river  data  where  such  are  obtained.  Similar  information 
is  published  for  the  entire  country  in  the  Monthly  Weather 
Review,  issued  at  the  central  office  in  Washington,  and  in  the 
Annual  .Report  of  the  Chief  of  the  Weather  Bureau. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  climatological  data,  special  efforts 
are  being  made  to  secure  more  complete  statistics  on  the  oc- 
currence and  distribution  of  hail  and  the  amount  of  damage 
done  by  tornadoes  and  other  wind  storms,  for  publication 
in  the  monthly  and  annual  reports  and  for  scientific  study. 

The  cooperative  stations  are  inspected  about  once  in  three 
years  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  instruments  and  maintain- 
ing personal  contact  between  the  observers  and  the  officers 
of  the  bureau. 

The  climatological  data  are  used  primarily  for  establishing 
the  weather  characteristics  of  each  locality,  information  which 
is  of  greatest  value  to  farmers  in  adapting  their  crops  to  such 
conditions,  to  manufacturers  in  many  lines  of  industry  in  de- 
termining the  location  of  plants,  to  emigrants  desiring  to  locate 
advantageously,  to  physicians  in  advising  patients,  etc.  Much 
use  is  also  made  of  these  records  by  railroads,  business  men, 
and  others  for  reference,  especially  when  needed  as  evidence 
in  court  concerning  weather  conditions  on  particular  days  in 
certain  localities,  as  in  suits  for  damages  to  perishable  goods  in 
storage  or  transit. 

Work  in  Marine  Meteorology.  The  Weather  Bureau,  with 
the  cooperation  of  navigators,  collects  the  results  of  meteoro- 
logical observations  at  sea.  All  cooperating  navigators  take 
observations  at  Greenwich  mean  noon  time,  when  they  record 
the  latitude  and  longitude,  take  barometric  readings,  and  note 
the  direction  and  velocity  of  the  wind  and  the  state  of  the 
weather.  This  information  is  recorded  on  blanks  furnished 
by  the  Weather  Bureau,  which  are  returned  by  mail  whenever 
the  vessel  lands. 


ACTIVITIES  27 

This  meteorological  information  when  received  is  charted 
at  the  office  in  Washington,  and  summaries  of  the  weather  con- 
ditions over  both  the  North  Atlantic  and  North  Pacific  oceans 
are  prepared  and  published  in  the  Monthly  Weather  Review. 
The  tracks  of  the  more  important  storms,  as  ascertained  from 
these  reports  and  other  data,  are  furnished  to  the  Hydro- 
graphic  Office  of  the  Navy  Department  under  a  departmental 
arrangement  and  an  act  of  Congress,  for  publication  on  the 
pilot  charts.  The  same  data  form  the  basis  of  the  average 
values  of  weather  elements  shown  on  the  Pilot  charts,  includ- 
ing atmospheric  pressure,  air  temperature,  gales,  fog,  etc. 
They  are  also  of  value  in  the  settlement  of  admiralty  cases. 

The  information  thus  compiled  and  distributed  is  very  im- 
portant to  navigators,  for  the  safe  and  economic  operation  of 
vessels  depends  largely  upon  a  knowledge  on  the  part  of  their 
officers  of  the  weather  of  the  oceans. 

Work  in  Agricultural  Meteorology.  This  group  of  activi- 
ties consists  of  collecting  information  of  special  value  to  the 
agricultural  interests  and  supplying  it  in  the  form  of  daily  or 
weekly  bulletins. 

In  the  corn  and  wheat  region,  from  April  to  September, 
daily  telegraphic  reports  of  temperature  and  rainfall  at  stations 
in  that  region  are  received  at  a  central  station,  where  a  sum- 
mary is  prepared  and  telegraphed  to  eighteen  points  in  the 
region,  at  each  of  which  the  summary  is  published  and  dis- 
tributed. 

In  the  cotton  region,  from  April  to  October,  daily  telegraphic 
reports  of  temperature  and  rainfall  at  special  stations  in  the 
eleven  principal  cotton  states  are  received  at  fifteen  district 
centers,  at  each  of  which,  and  at  eleven  other  points,  daily 
bulletins  containing  this  information  are  prepared  and  pub- 
lished. Weekly  bulletins  and  charts  giving  the  temperature 
and  rainfall  over  the  cotton  states  are  published  at  New  Or- 
leans. 

Similar  special  services  are  rendered  for  the  rice,  sugar, 
tobacco,  truck,  alfalfa,  and  cattle  regions  in  the  United  States. 


28  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

In  the  fruit  region,  in  addition  to  the  cold-wave  and  frost 
warnings  already  mentioned,  expert  information  is  given  to 
fruit  growers  concerning  the  temperatures  to  be  expected  and 
the  necessity  for  lighting  fires  in  orchards.  Studies  are  also 
being  made  concerning  temperature  at  various  altitudes  in  the 
fruit-growing  states,  the  weather  effects  on  fruit  trees  and  on 
the  activity  of  damaging  insects,  and  the  efficacy  of  orchard 
heaters. 

Weekly  data  concerning  temperatures  and  rainfall  and 
their  effects  upon  the  crops  and  farm  operations  are  received 
from  special  observers  at  all  the  state  section  centers,  where 
synopses  are  prepared  and  telegraphed  to  the  Weather  Bureau 
in  Washington.  These  reports  are  issued  at  n  A.  M.  Wednes- 
day, and  cover  the  weather  conditions  up  to  8  A.  M.  Tuesday. 
The  collective  information  is  published  in  the  Weather,  Crops 
and  Markets?  issued  in  Washington  by  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  while  local  bulletins  are  published  at  the  section 
centers  in  each  state. 

In  the  collection  and  distribution  of  this  information  the 
Weather  Bureau  depends  largely  upon  the  services  of  volun- 
tary observers  who  receive  no  compensation  for  their  serv- 
ices. Efforts  are  being  made  to  secure  the  establishment  of 
meteorological  stations  at  the  agricultural  experiment  sta- 
tions. 

Among  the  studies  that  are  being  made  in  agricultural  me- 
teorology, in  cooperation  with  other  bureaus  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  are :  The  effect  of  temperature,  rain- 
fall, and  snow  on  winter  wheat ;  the  effect  of  different  weather 
factors  on  the  production  and  yield  of  corn,  cotton,  and  other 
crops;  the  influence  of  the  weather  on  the  progress  of  the 
cotton  harvest,  and  the  relation  of  climate  to  the  geographic 
distribution  of  farm  products  and  types  of  farming  in  the 
United  States;  cultivation  and  rainfall  in  the  Great  Plains; 
the  relation  between  precipitation  and  the  grazing  capacity  of 

1  Prior  to  1922  this  information  was  published  in  the  National 
Weather  and  Crop  Bulletin. 


ACTIVITIES  29 

ranges ;  and  the  seasonal  distribution  of  precipitation  and  sun- 
shine in  the  United  States. 

Work  in  Aerology.  Observations  of  the  upper  air  are  be- 
ing made  for  the  purpose  of  providing  information  of  im- 
mediate practical  value  to  aviators  and  of  throwing  light  upon 
the  problems  of  dynamic  meteorology ;  that  is,  to  secure  more 
information  concerning  the  general  circulation  of  the  at- 
mosphere. These  observations  are  made  by  means  of  kites 
and  free  or  "pilot"  balloons.  The  kite  observations  include 
daily  flights  at  six  stations,  and  whenever  possible,  continuous 
series  of  such  flights  covering  periods  of  twenty-four  to  thirty- 
six  hours.  By  means  of  self-registering  instruments,  records 
of  air  pressure,  temperature,  humidity,  and  wind  direction  and 
velocity  are  obtained.  Brief  summaries  of  these  records  and 
observations  are  telegraphed  daily  to  the  central  office. 

Observations  by  means  of  pilot  balloons  are  made  twice 
daily  at  the  kite  stations  and  at  seven  other  Weather  Bureau 
stations  in  the  United  States,  and  the  indicated  wind  conditions 
at  various  heights  are  telegraphed  to  the  central  office  and 
other  district  forecast  centers  for  use  in  furnishing  advice  to 
the  military,  naval,  and  postal  aviation  services.  Observations 
made  by  the  army  and  navy  aerological  stations  are  also  tele- 
graphed to  the  Weather  Bureau. 

Aerological  stations  have  also  been  established  by  the 
Weather  Bureau  at  Key  West,  Florida,  and  at  San  Juan, 
Porto  Rico,  which  together  with  similar  stations  organized 
by  the  War  and  Navy  Departments  in  the  West  Indies  and 
Gulf  States  form  a  network  of  stations  which  furnish  infor- 
mation concerning  the  origin,  direction,  and  speed  of  movement 
of  hurricanes,  thus  rendering  much  aid  in  the  study  of  these 
destructive  storms  and  in  forecasting  their  direction  and  rate 
of  movement. 

While  aerological  observations  and  studies  have  been  made 
for  many  years  under  the  general  authority  to  perform  me- 
teorological work,  aerology  was  first  specifically  mentioned  in 


30  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

the  agricultural  appropriation  act  of  June  30,  1914  (38  Stat. 
L.,  415,  417).  The  army  appropriation  act  of  May  12,  1917 
(40  Stat.  L.,  40,  43)  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1918 
had  an  item  of  $100,000  to  be  expended  under  the  direction 
of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  "For  the  establishment  and 
maintenance  by  the  Weather  Bureau  of  additional  aerological 
stations,  for  observing,  measuring  and  investigating  atmos- 
pheric phenomena  in  the  aid  of  aeronautics."  Since  that 
time  similar  provisions  of  slightly  smaller  amounts  have 
been  included  in  the  annual  agricultural  appropriation 
acts. 

Reporting  Effects  of  Weather  on  Highways.  The  "high- 
ways weather  service"  was  formally  authorized  during  the 
fiscal  year  1919.  Daily  reports  are  received  at  certain  central 
stations,  from  voluntary  local  observers,  of  the  conditions  of 
the  roads  as  affected  by  the  weather  in  the  surrounding  regions 
and  over  certain  main  highways.  In  cases  where  the  stations 
are  centers  of  a  corn-and-wheat  or  cotton  region  service,  the 
reports  are  transmitted  by  telegraph  by  the  addition  of  a  code- 
word in  the  regular  daily  corn-and-wheat  or  cotton  report. 
In  other  instances  the  reports  are  transmitted  to  the  central 
stations  by  mail  by  means  of  franked  postal  cards.  The  re- 
ports are  brought  together  at  the  central  stations  where  daily 
bulletins  are  issued  giving  information  of  the  condition  of  the 
roads,  the  effect  of  the  weather  thereon,  and  other  similar 
information  of  value  to  automobilists  and  to  those  who  are 
engaged  in  the  transportation  of  goods  by  truck.  Such  bul- 
letins are  issued  from  sixty-two  stations  located  in  thirty 
states. 

Reporting  and  Forecasting  River  Stages.  The  reporting 
of  the  stage  of  water  in  rivers  is  an  activity  of  the  Weather 
Bureau  which  has  been  authorized  in  appropriation  acts  since 
1871.  Its  purpose  is  to  safeguard  life  and  property  from 
destruction  by  floods  and  to  aid  river  navigation  by  publish- 


ACTIVITIES  31 

ing  and  forecasting  the  stage  of  the  water  in  rivers  and  giving 
warning  of  floods. 

The  river  and  flood  service  is  organized  under  sixty-eight 
district  centers,  to  each  of  which  is  assigned  one  or  more  rivers, 
and  in  the  case  of  the  larger  rivers,  a  portion  of  the  stream. 
Daily  readings  of  gage  heights  for  at  least  part  of  the  year 
are  made  at  566  stations,  and  occasional  readings  as  circum- 
stances may  require,  at  seventy-two  stations.  Most  of  these 
stations  also  measure  rainfall.  In  addition,  113  stations  make 
continuous  records  of  rainfall,  which  at  times  of  excessive 
rains  are  telegraphed  for  gage  forecast  purposes,  and  218 
stations  report  only  in  case  of  heavy  rains.  The  rainfall 
measurements  at  all  the  other  regular  and  cooperative  meteor- 
ological stations  are  also  available  for  hydrological  studies. 

The  river  observations  consist  of  a  daily  reading  of  the 
river  gage,  which  is  indicated  in  feet  and  tenths  above  a  certain 
zero  mark,  usually  the  low-water  mark  of  the  station.  These 
observations  are  reported  by  mail  or  telegraph  to  the  district 
center,  together  with  the  rainfall  and  the  weather  condition. 

The  meteorologist  in  charge  of  the  district  center  uses  these 
reports  as  a  basis  for  making  a  daily  forecast  of  the  expected 
rise  and  fall,  if  the  river  is  one  on  which  navigation  is  carried 
on.  Special  attention,  however,  is  given  to  the  issue  of  flood 
warnings,  particularly  when  damages  are  expected  to  result 
from  the  floods.  In  such  cases  the  expected  crest  stage  of  the 
flood  is  indicated  in  the  warning  as  accurately  as  possible  and 
with  as  much  advance  notice  as  can  be  given.  In  practice 
it  is  customary  to  set  a  provisional  crest  stage  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment  and  then  revise  it  from  day  to  day  as  the 
flood  develops.  In  short  fast-running  streams,  the  period  of 
advance  notice  is  necessarily  limited  to  from  twelve  to  twenty- 
four  hours,  but  on  the  longer,  or  on  some  of  the  shorter  slug- 
gish streams  it  is  possible  to  give  from  three  to  seven  days 
advance  notice  of  floods. 

In  the  river-stage  forecasts  and  flood  warnings  the  forecaster 
takes  into  consideration,  among  other  things,  the  amount  and 


32  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

intensity  of  precipitation,  the  run-off  and  ground  absorption, 
the  gage  relation  between  points  and  rate  of  flow,  and  the 
storage  capacity  of  the  river  channel  and  overflow  areas. 

Studies  in  Solar  Radiation.  This  activity  consists  of  ob- 
serving and  measuring  solar  radiation  at  the  earth's  surface. 
Continuous  records  are  kept  of  the  total  amount  of  radiation 
received  on  a  horizontal  surface  from  the  sun  and  sky.  Meas- 
urements are  made  of  the  rate  at  which  heat  is  received  at  the 
surface  of  the  earth  by  radiation  during  the  day  from  the  sun 
and  from  the  sky;  the  heat  lost  at  night;  and  the  relation  of 
these  measurements  to  the  atmospheric  conditions.  From 
these  radiation  measurements,  which  are  based  on  observations 
at  four  stations,  compilations  are  made  of  the  diurnal  and  an- 
nual variations  in  radiation  intensity  with  geographical  position 
in  the  United  States,  and  the  variations  which  depend  princi- 
pally upon  latitude,  altitude,  and  the  vapor  contents  of  the 
atmosphere. 

Studies  are  also  being  made  to  determine  sky  brightness,  or 
the  intensity  of  natural  lighting  in  various  sections  of  the 
United  States,  at  different  seasons  of  the  year  and  hours  of 
the  day,  and  under  various  atmospheric  conditions. 

The  shading  effects  of  wire  insect  cages  used  to  protect 
plants  from  insect  pests  are  being  studied,  and  the  effect  of  the 
various  kinds  of  shade  cloth  employed  by  tobacco  growers  to 
improve  the  quality  of  the  tobacco  leaf.  Studies  with  shade 
cloths  have  been  made  to  determine  the  relation  between  sun- 
light intensity  and  the  development  of  certain  plants. 

Measurements  are  also  being  made  of  the  heat  radiated  from 
different  types  of  orchard  heaters,  and  of  the  retardation  of 
nocturnal  cooling  by  a  smoke  cover.  These  studies  find  prac- 
tical application  in  orchard  protection  against  frosts. 

Studies  in  Seismology.  While  the  study  of  earthquakes  is 
outside  the  field  of  meteorology,  it  bears  a  sufficiently  close 
relation  to  be  included  among  fthe  activities  of  the  Weather 


ACTIVITIES  33 

Bureau.  Observations  in  seismology  were  carried  on  inciden- 
tally by  the  Signal  Corps  without  special  legislative  authority 
for  a  number  of  years.  The  agricultural  appropriation  act  of 
June  30,  1914  (38  Stat.  L.,  415,  417)  included  a  provision 
charging  the  Weather  Bureau  specifically  with  the  conduct  of 
this  work,  the  bureau  being  the  only  government  institution 
having  field  stations  in  operation  at  a  sufficient  number  of  well 
distributed  points  throughout  the  country,  equipped  with  a 
suitable  personnel  for  carrying  on  this  work.  Since  that 
time,  seismology  has  been  annually  included  among  the  items 
for  which  appropriations  have  been  made.  The  work  of  reg- 
ularly collecting  and  publishing  earthquake  data  began  Decem- 
ber i,  1914.  The  data  are  of  two  kinds — noninstrumental  re- 
ports of  earthquakes  felt,  and  instrumental  records,  often  of 
quakes  wholly  imperceptible  to  the  senses.  The  noninstru- 
mental reports  are  rendered  by  all  the  regular  stations  and  by 
nearly  all  the  cooperative  observers.  The  instrumental  records 
published  by  the  Weather  Bureau  have  been  obtained  in  part 
by  instruments  owned  and  operated  by  the  bureau  itself,  one 
at  Washington,  and  one  at  Northfield,  Vermont,  and  partly 
through  the  cooperation  of  eighteen  additional  stations  distrib- 
uted from  Panama  to  Alaska  and  from  the  Hawaiian  Islands 
to  Porto  ,Rico. 

By  means  of  these  observations  and  the  studies  based  on 
them,  it  is  expected  that  the  Weather  Bureau  will  gradually 
be  able  to  find  and  to  map  those  numerous  breaks  and  weak 
vertical  seams  in  the  earth's  crust  along  which  abrupt  slipping 
and  sliding — the  cause  of  nearly  all  earthquakes — most  fre- 
quently occur,  and  thereby  to  reduce  earthquake  damage  by 
advising  the  avoidance  of  all  dangerous  places  in  the  location 
of  dams,  aqueducts,  bridges,  and  other  important  structures. 

Studies  in  Volcanology.  This  work  was  taken  over  by  the 
Weather  Bureau  in  compliance  with  a  provision  of  the  appro- 
priation act  of  October  i,  1918  (40  Stat.  L.,  973,  975).  The 
purpose  of  the  appropriation  was  to  enable  the  bureau  to 


34  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

conduct  investigations  in  volcanology  at  Kilauea  Volcano,  on 
Hawaii  Island,  the  plan  being  to  extend  the  studies  if  possible 
to  Alaska  later  on.  Investigations  had  been  conducted  at 
Kilauea  since  1912,  first  under  the  auspices  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Institute  of  Technology  and  since  1913  by  the  Hawaiian 
Volcano  Research  Association.  The  Weather  Bureau  took 
formal  control  of  the  work  on  February  15,  1919,  retaining 
the  services  of  the  volcanologist  who  had  until  then  been  in 
charge  of  the  investigations. 

The  program  of  the  work  contemplates  little  more  than  the 
maintenance  of  the  systematic  observations  of  the  volcano, 
with  some  possible  extensions  in  the  way  of  a  seismic  survey 
of  the  vicinity  of  Kilauea.  The  work  consists  of  lava  meas- 
urements, keeping  various  seismometric  records,  and  studying 
the  volcanic  gases,  such  as  their  composition  and  reactions, 
their  effects  on  the  rocks,  their  heat  mechanism,  and  their  radio 
activity.  Some  of  the  ultimate  objects  of  this  service  are  to 
ascertain  the  relation  which  volcanic  output  bears  to  air,  water, 
earthquakes,  etc.,  and  whether  volcanic  energy  may  be  available 
for  the  use  of  man.  The  work  is  mainly  performed  at  the 
station  on  Hawaii  Island. 

Maintaining  and  Operating  Telegraph  Lines.  There  is  a 
considerable  number  of  stations  at  outlying  points  and  on 
islands  along  the  sea  coasts  and  lake  shores  that  cannot  be 
reached  by  any  telegraph  and  telephone  lines  operated  by  pri- 
vate companies.  To  establish  the  necessary  communication 
with  these  stations  it  has  been  necessary  since  the  beginning  of 
the  Weather  Service  to  maintain  government  telephone  and 
telegraph  and  cable  lines. 

The  Weather  Bureau  owns  and  operates  in  whole  or  in  part, 
the  telegraphic,  telephonic,  and  cable  connections  between  Mat- 
unuck  Beach  and  Block  Island,  Rhode  Island;  Norfolk,  Vir- 
ginia, Cape  Hatteras,  North  Carolina ;  Sleeping  Bear  Point  and 
North  and  South  Manitou  Islands,  Michigan;  Alpena,  Middle 
Island,  and  Thunder  Bay,  Michigan ;  Grand  Marais  and  White- 


ACTIVITIES  35 

fish  Point,  Michigan ;  Charlevoix  to  St.  James,  Beaver  Island, 
Michigan;  Tatoosh  Island  and  Port  Angeles,  Washington; 
North  Head  and  Portland,  Oregon;  San  Francisco  and  Point 
Reyes  and  Tamalpais,  California.  A  cable  connecting  Key 
West  and  Sand  Key,  Florida,  was  formerly  operated  by  the 
Weather  Bureau,  but  it  became  unserviceable  and  a  new  one  was 
laid  during  the  World  War  by  the  Navy  Department  when 
that  department  took  over  the  operation  of  the  Sand  Key  sta- 
tion. The  station  has  since  been  returned  to  the  Weather 
Bureau  which  has  unrestricted  use  of  the  cable. 

These  cables  and  wires  are  used  for  the  transmission  of 
weather  reports,  forecasts,  and  storm  warnings  and  reporting 
the  passage  of  vessels.  Some  of  them  are  also  used  for  pri- 
vate business,  in  which  case  a  charge  is  made  in  the  same  way 
as  on  regular  commercial  lines. 

Instrument  Equipping  and  Testing.  All  instruments  used 
by  the  Weather  Bureau  and  its  cooperative  observers  are  tested 
and  standardized  by  experts  at  the  central  office,  who  also 
supervise  their  installation,  and  the  installation  and  main- 
tenance of  automatic  river  gages  and  the  display  equipment 
of  storm  warning  stations.  Attention  is  also  given  to 
the  designing  and  constructing  of  new  instrumental  equip- 
ment. 

Other  Meteorological  Work.  In  addition  to  the  regular 
meteorological  work  above  mentioned,  special  studies  and  in- 
vestigations are!  undertaken  from  time  to  time!/  either  by 
utilizing  the  material  on  hand  or  by  means  of  special  obser- 
vation and  research.  Among  such  activities  in  recent  years  are 
the  following : 

Evaporation  Work.  There  are  thirty-eight  stations,  well 
distributed  over  the  country  at  which  special  evaporation  ob- 
servations are  made  and  reported  each  month  to  the  central 
office  in  Washington. 

Atmospheric  Moisture.     Much  material  has  been  gathered 


36  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

in  preparation  of  a  report  on  the  vapor  pressure  and  relative 
humidity  of  the  United  States. 

Cyclones  and  Anticyclones  of  the  United  States.  A  study 
of  the  various  types  of  cyclones  and  anticyclones  of  the  United 
States  and  their  average  movements  has  been  made  and  pub- 
lished. 

Treatise  on  Weather  Forecasting.  A  board  consisting  of 
four  of  the  most  experienced  forecasters  have  been  engaged 
upon  the  preparation  of  a  treatise  or  manual  on  weather  fore- 
casting in  the  United  States,  which  has  been  published.  It 
deals  with  the  general  principles  of  the  art  of  weather  fore- 
casting. 

Mountain  Snowfall.  Snow  surveys  are  being  made  to 
determine  the  depth  and  density  of  the  snow  cover  at  high  al- 
titudes in  certain  drainage  basins  of  the  west.  Several  hun- 
dred stations  are  being  maintained  in  the  elevated  regions  of 
the  Far  Western  states,  at  which  precise  measurements  are 
made  of  the  depth  and  water  contents  of  the  snow  which  falls 
in  the  elevated  portions  of  those  states.  These  measurements 
are  useful  in  determining  approximately  the  amount  of  water 
available  for  irrigating  purposes  on  the  adjacent  lowlands. 

Climate  of  Africa.  By  request  of  other  departments  of  the 
National  government,  and  for  the  use  of  the  Peace  Con- 
ference at  Paris,  the  Weather  Bureau,  after  the  armistice,  pre- 
pared a  general  summary  of  the  climate  of  Africa,  with  special 
attention  to  that  of  the  former  German  colonies,  consisting 
of  charts  showing  graphically  the  annual  and  monthly  distri- 
bution of  precipitation  and  temperature  over  the  continent, 
together  with  a  discussion  of  its  climatic  characteristics. 

Meteorological  War  Service.  During  the  war  the  activities 
of  the  Weather  Bureau  were  extended  to  two  primary  proj- 
ects :  ( i )  The  forecasting  of  the  weather  for  purely  military 
operations;  (2)  the  sounding  of  the  upper  air  for  the  benefit 
of  aviators,  balloonists,  and  artillerists.  For  the  purpose  of 
carrying  on  this  work,  two  of  the  experts  of  the  Weather 
Bureau  were  commissioned  majors  in  the  Signal  Officers'  Re- 


ACTIVITIES  37 

serve  Corps.  In  cooperation  with  French  and  English  meteor- 
ologists, these  two  officers  and  other  experienced  forecasters 
of  the  Weather  Bureau  temporarily  on  military  duty  formed  a 
meteorological  unit,  which  received  nightly  telegrams  contain- 
ing weather  reports  from  the  eastern  districts  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  which,  together  with  local  observations 
on  the  surface  and  in  balloons  in  western  Europe,  enabled 
them  to  make  forecasts  for  military  purposes,  and  to  furnish 
other  meteorological  information  needed  for  the  most  effec- 
tive work  with  artillery,  airplanes,  poison  gas,  etc. 

The  war  activities  of  the  Weather  Bureau  have  been  sum- 
marized as  follows : * 

1.  Furnishing  forecasts  and  warnings 

a.  To  army  cantonments  and  camps  and  naval  bases 

b.  To  railroads  in  connection  with  handling  and  trans- 
portation of  food  and  other  supplies 

2.  Furnishing  War  and  Navy  Departments  with  meteor- 
ological instruments 

3.  Supplying  meteorological  data  to  the  Surgeon  General's 
Office  for  use  in  connection  with  studies  of  dietetics,  camp 
sanitation,  hygiene,  and  the  like 

4.  Making    aerological    investigations    to    secure    free-air 
data  for  aviation  and  artillery  uses 

5.  Conducting  special  work  with  kites  to  test  searchlights 
at  night  and  as  an  aid  to  artillerists  in  detecting  moving  ob- 
jects in  the  air 

6.  Cooperating  with  the  Signal  Corps  in  Draining  balloon- 
ists  and  enlisted  men  in  meteorological  work 

7.  Reporting  vessels  entering  and  leaving  Atlantic,   Gulf, 
and  Pacific  coast  ports 

8.  Transmitting  naval  and  military  business  over  its  tele- 
graph and  cable  lines 

9.  Assisting  in  the  organization  of  gas  and  flame  regiments 

10.  Transferring  to   the   War   Department   for  service  in 
France,  meteorological  experts  and  forecasters 

1  Weather  Bureau,  Annual  Report,  1918. 


CHAPTER  III 
ORGANIZATION 

The  Weather  Bureau  consists  of  an  administrative  and 
scientific  organization  in  Washington,  and  observing  and  fore- 
cast stations  throughout  the  country  and  in  some  of  the 
West  Indian  Islands  and  Central  America.  On  July  i,  192] 
there  were  213  stations  with  paid  employees  and  about  4500 
stations  manned  by  volunteers  and  by  persons  on  part-time 
service. 

The  establishment  in  Washington  consists  of  the  offices  of 
the  Chief  and  Assistant  Chief,  the  office  of  the  Chief  Clerk, 
and  sixteen  divisions. 

The  functions  of  the  Chief  of  the  Weather  Bureau  are 
defined  in  Section  3  of  the  organic  act  of  October  i,  1890. 
The  Assistant  Chief  and  the  Chief  Clerk,  assist  the  Chief  in 
the  scientific  work  and  in  the  business  administration  of  the 
bureau. 

Administrative  and  Scientific  Divisions.  The  sixteen 
divisions  are  as  follows :  Stations  and  Accounts,  Supplies, 
Printing,  Telegraph,  Library,  Editorial,  Forecasts,  Forecast- 
ing, Climatological,  Agricultural  Meteorological,  Marine, 
Aerological,  River  and  Flood,  Solar  Radiation,  Seismological, 
and  Instrument. 

Stations  and  Accounts  Division.  This  division  transacts 
all  business  relating  to  the  finances  of  the  bureau;  audits, 
adjusts,  and  prepares  for  payment,  all  accounts  and  claims 
against  the  bureau;  prepares  advertisements;  issues  transpor- 
tation requests,  and  supervises  the  construction  and  repair  of 
Weather  Bureau  buildings  outside  of  Washington.  The  per- 

38 


ORGANIZATION  39 

sonnel  of  the  division   consists  of  the  Chief  and  Assistant 
Chief  and  twelve  other  employees. 

Supplies  Division.  This  division  purchases  and  issues  the 
supplies  of  the  bureau,  both  in  the  Washington  establishment 
and  at  the  stations,  and  is  charged  with  the  safe-keeping  of 
all  property  belonging  to  the  bureau.  The  personnel  consists 
of  a  Chief  and  an  Assistant  Chief  and  nine  other  employees. 

Printing  Division.  This  division  prints  and  mails  the  daily 
weather  map  and  the  various  charts  and  miscellaneous  printed 
matter  pertaining  to  the  bureau,  and  has  the  custody  of  and 
distributes  station  forms.  It  consists  of  the  office  of  the 
Chief  of  Division,  a  composing  room,  a  press  room,  and  a 
lithographing  section.  The  personnel  consists  of  the  Chief  of 
Division,  a  clerk,  and  a  force  of  twenty-three  skilled  and  un- 
skilled workers. 

Telegraph  Division.  This  division  receives,  transmits,  and 
records  all  telegrams  from  the  central  office,  supervises  the 
telegraph  work  performed  at  field  stations,  arranges  telegraph 
circuits,  maintains  and  repairs  Weather  Bureau  telegraph  lines 
and  submarine  cables,  and  examines  all  telegraph  and  field 
telephone  accounts.  The  personnel  consists  of  a  Chief  and 
Assistant  Chief,  ten  operators,  and  two  messengers. 

Library.  The  library  includes  standard  works  of  reference, 
technical  books  on  meteorology  and  allied  sciences,  and  a 
complete  file  of  the  publications  of  meteorological  and  cli- 
matological  services  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  It  contains  a 
catalogue,  prepared  in  the  library,  of  the  meteorological  contents 
of  all  the  principal  scientific  periodicals  of  the  world,  includ- 
ing proceedings  and  transactions  of  societies.  Translations 
from  foreign  languages,  required  in  the  bureau,  are  made  in 
the  library.  The  personnel  consists  of  the  Librarian,  who 
ranks  as  a  meteorologist,  two  clerks,  and  a  messenger. 

Editorial  Division.  This  office  has  general  editorial  super- 
vision over  scientific  arid  semi-scientific  papers  submitted  for 
publication  by  the  bureau,  calling  attention  to  such  of  these 
as  seem  appropriate  for  the  Monthly  Weather  Review,  for  the 


40  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

Journal  of  'Agricultural  Research,  newspapers,  etc. ;  it  prepares 
summaries,  indexes,  abstracts,  and  notes  concerning  the  prog- 
ress of  meteorological  science;  and  it  edits  and  supervises 
the  publication  of  the  Monthly  Weather  Review.  The  per- 
sonnel consists  of  the  Editor,  who  ranks  as  a  meteorologist, 
an  assistant,  and  a  clerk. 

Forecast  Division.  This  division  supervises  the  receiving 
and  charting,  twice  daily,  of  telegraphic  reports  of  the  pre- 
vailing weather  conditions,  and  distribution  of  information 
as  to  current  weather  conditions  and  forecasts  of  impending 
weather  changes  in  all  parts  of  the  country;  also  warnings  of 
storms,  hurricanes,  cold  waves,  frosts,  heavy  snows,  etc.,  for 
the  special  benefit  of  agriculture,  commerce,  and  navigation, 
including  aviation.  It  checks  up  the  verifications  of  the  fore- 
casts made  by  the  district  and  local  forecasters. 

The  division  is  subdivided  into  the  office  of  the  meteorologist 
in  charge,  the  clerical  section,  map  section,  observatory,  and 
verification  section.  The  personnel  consists  of  the  Meteorol- 
ogist in  charge  of  the  division,  an  assistant,  two  Meteorologists, 
an  Observer,  and  twelve  other  employees. 

Forecasting  Division.  This  is  the  central  office  of  the 
largest  of  the  five  principal  districts  into  which  the  country  is 
divided  for  forecast  purposes.  Being  located  at  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Weather  Bureau,  it  is  not  regarded  as  one  of 
the  stations,  but  as  a  part  of  the  central  office.  The  fore- 
casts made  in  this  division  cover  the  entire  eastern  part  of  the 
United  States  east  of  the  upper  Mississippi  Valley  and  of  the 
lower  Mississippi  River.  The  chief  of  this  division  has  su- 
pervisory control  over  the  forecasts  made  in  other  districts. 
The  personnel  consists  of  a  Meteorologist  in  charge,  an  as- 
sistant, and  an  Observer. 

Climatological  Division.  This  division  has  charge  of  the 
collection,  study,  and  publication  of  climatological  data  for  the 
United  States.  It  has  general  supervision  of  the  work  of 
about  4500  cooperative  stations  and  about  thirty-five  special 
meteorological  stations,  from  which  are  collected  by  mail  the 


ORGANIZATION  41 

records  of  daily  observations  of  temperature,  precipitation, 
and  other  meteorological  conditions  necessary  to  establish  the 
history  of  the  climate  of  the  various  portions  of  the  United 
States.  It  supervises  the  equipment  and  personnel  of  stations 
maintained  in  connection  with  the  principal  agricultural  ac- 
tivities of  the  country.  The  division  supervises  the  issue  of 
a  weekly  bulletin  during  the  winter  months,  showing  the  depth 
of  snow  on  the  ground  and  the  thickness  of  ice  in  rivers  and 
harbors;  and  from  time  to  time  it  issues  special  bulletins  or 
papers  bearing  on  climatological  subjects.  It  prepares  the 
climatological  portions  of  the  annual  reports  of  the  bureau, 
and  supervises  the  monthly  and  annual  summaries  and  other 
publications  of  the  climatological  services  of  the  various  states. 
The  division  has  charge  of  the  barometry  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  preparation  of  the  normals  of  pressure,  temperature, 
precipitation,  etc.  The  personnel  of  the  division  consists  of  a 
Climatologist  in  charge,  an  assistant,  and  sixteen  other  em- 
ployees. 

Division  of  Agricultural  Meteorology.  This  division  con- 
ducts studies  concerning  the  relation  of  weather  to  crops,  and 
collects  statistical  data  required  in  such  studies.  It  directs 
and  supervises  the  cooperative  relations  of  the  Weather  Bureau 
with  the  state  experiment  stations  and  other  contributing  or- 
ganizations. The  division  supervises  the  work  of  about  400 
special  stations  maintained  in  connection  with  the  corn,  wheat, 
cotton,  sugar,  rice,  tobacco,  fruit,  and  cattle  industries,  and 
supervises  the  distribution  of  special  warnings  for  the  benefit 
of  growers.  It  collects  and  publishes  data  showing  the  cur- 
rent weather  conditions  throughout  the  country  and  the  effects 
of  these  conditions  upon  important  crops,  and  supervises  the 
issue  of  weather  crop  summaries  at  the  various  state  centers. 
The  personnel  of  this  division  consists  of  a  Meteorologist  in 
charge,  an  assistant,  and  three  other  employees. 

Marine  Division.  This  division  supervises  the  work  of  se- 
curing and  collating  reports  from  marine  observers  containing 
information  pertaining  to  the  ocean,  prepares  charts  of  the 


42  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

meteorology  of  the  ocean,  and  supplies  the  information  con- 
cerning the  paths  of  storms  published  by  the  Hydrographic 
Office  of  the  Navy  Department  on  its  pilot  charts.  The  per- 
sonnel of  the  division  consists  of  a  Chief  of  Division,  an 
assistant,  and  a  clerk. 

Aerological  Investigations  Division.  The  work  of  this  di- 
vision includes  supervision  over  the  making  of  observations  at 
certain  field  stations  by  means  of  kites  and  balloons  and  the 
reduction,  study,  and  publication  of  data  thus  obtained  with 
the  view  of  extending  knowledge  concerning  the  dynamics  of 
the  atmosphere  and  making  useful  and  practical  information 
available  to  artillery,  aviation,  and  other  interests.  Data  of 
the  upper  atmosphere  are  received  in  this  division  by  tele- 
graph from  observing  stations  for  use  in  diagnosing  general 
weather  conditions  and  for  furnishing  information  on  con- 
ditions in  the  free  air  for  the  use  of  aviators.  Reports  are 
received  from  six  stations  at  which  upper  air  observations 
are  made  by  means  of  kites  and  balloons  and  from  eight  others 
where  balloons  only  are  used.  The  personnel  of  this  division 
consists  of  a  Meteorologist  in  charge,  an  assistant,  and  thirteen 
other  employees. 

Solar  Radiation  Investigations  Division.  Measurements 
are  made  in  this  division  of  the  rate  at  which  heat  is  received 
at  the  surface  of  the  earth  by  radiation,  during  the  day,  from 
the  sun  and  sky  combined,  and  from  each  source  separately, 
the  heat  lost  at  night,  and  the  relation  of  these  measurements 
to  atmospheric  conditions.  The  work  of  this  division  is  done 
by  a  Meteorologist  in  charge  and  an  assistant. 

River  and  Flood  Division.  This  division  has  charge  of  the 
collection  of  information  as  to  stages  of  water  along  the  navi- 
gable rivers,  the  issue  of  flood  warnings,  and  the  study  of 
the  physical  characteristics  of  the  rivers  of  the  United  States ; 
information  on  the  depth  of  snowfall  in  the  mountains  of 
the  West  for  a  study  of  the  flow  of  water  in  the  streams  sup- 
plying irrigation  projects ;  and  information  on  the  rate  of 
evaporation  from  ponds  and  lakes  in  the  interest  of  water 


ORGANIZATION  43 

storage  for  irrigation,  power  development,  and  navigation; 
and  it  supervises,  on  the  part  of  the  Weather  Bureau,  the  ex- 
periment stations  maintained  jointly  by  the  Weather  Bureau 
and  the  Forest  Service.  It  has  administrative  control  of  the 
entire  river  and  flood  service  of  the  bureau  and  has  general 
supervision  of  the  installation  and  unkeep  of  river  gages,  the 
collection  and  publication  of  statistical  data,  and  the  prepar- 
ation of  rules  for  flood  forecasting.  The  geographic  unit  of 
the  field  service  is  the  river  district  center,  one  to  each  water- 
shed, except  in  the  case  of  the  largest  rivers,  where  it  becomes 
necessary  on  account  of  the  size  of  the  watershed  to  create  a 
number  of  district  centers,  all  of  equal  rank  and  each  having 
a  definite  stretch  of  the  river  under  its  charge.  The  total 
number  of  river  district  centers  is  sixty-two.  Daily  gagings 
are  made  for  some  part  of  the  year  at  4688  stations. 

The  officer  in  charge  of  each  district  center  is  responsible  to 
the  central  office  for  the  administration  and  control  of  the  sub- 
ordinate gaging  and  rainfall  reporting  stations  in  his  district, 
and  for  the  issue  and  distribution  of  flood  warnings  when  nec- 
essary. For  navigable  rivers,  daily  stages  are  published  in  the 
interest  of  navigation. 

River  district  centers,  almost  without  exception,  are  also  full- 
reporting  meteorological  stations,  and  as  such,  distribute  the 
usual  routine  information,  such  as  warnings  of  unusual  weather 
conditions,  etc.  The  personnel  of  the  division  consists  of  a 
Meteorologist  in  charge,  an  assistant,  and  a  clerk. 

Seisniological  Investigations  Division.  The  investigations 
made  by  this  division  includes  the  collection  and  study  of  both 
instrumental  records  and  personal  observations  of  earthquake 
phenomena  throughout  the  United  States.  One  of  the  im- 
mediate objects  in  view  is  the  detailed  mapping  of  the  country 
with  reference  to  existing  faults  on  the  lines  of  weakness  of 
the  earth's  crust  as  evidenced  by  breaks  or  movements  thereon 
that  occasionally  take  place,  causing  small  local  earthquakes, 
such  maps  being  of  value  to  those  who  have  occasion  to  locate 
dams  and  similar  important  permanent  structures.  The  per- 


44  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

sonnel  of  this  division  consists  of  a  Professor  of  Meteorolog- 
ical Physics  in  charge,  and  an  assistant. 

Instrument  Division.  This  division  supervises  the  main- 
tenance of  a  high  standard  of  instrumentation  and  equipment 
for  the  meteorological  and  seismological  observational  work  of 
the  bureau.  This  involves  the  supervision  of  the  installation 
and  methods  of  use  of  the  instruments  and  equipment  required 
for  meteorological  observations  in  the  field;  the  installation 
and  maintenance  of  the  display  equipment  of  storm- warning 
stations;  supervision  of  all  evaporation  work;  installation  and 
maintenance  of  automatic  river  gages;  the  adjustment  and 
application  of  corrections  of  instruments  in  use  by  observers 
in  the  field;  problems  relating  to  protection  from  lightning; 
the  testing,  standardizing,  and  repairing  of  all  apparatus;  and 
the  designing  and  constructing  of  new  instrumental  equip- 
ment. The  division  consists  of  the  office  of  the  Meteorologist 
in  charge,  a  clerical  section,  a  testing  and  designing  section, 
and  a  machine  shop.  The  personnel  consists  of  a  Meteorolo- 
gist in  charge,  an  assistant,  two  Meteorologists,  six  instru- 
ment makers,  and  five  other  employees. 

Stations.  The  Weather  Bureau  maintained  on  July  i,  1921 
throughout  the  United  States,  in  the  West  Indies,  in  Alaska, 
and  in  Hawaii,  213  regular  stations,  employing  on  full  time 
from  one  to  fifteen  persons  each,  and  about  4500  other  sta- 
tions. Most  of  these  perform  the  simple  function  of  ob- 
serving and  reporting  meteorological  conditions,  and  when 
located  on  rivers,  the  stage  of  the  river.  Of  the  213  stations, 
all  but  two  repair  stations  take  meteorological  observations. 
Some  of  the  stations  are  also  district  centers  at  which  forecasts 
are  made,  and  climatological  data  collected  and  published,  and 
others  are  river  and  flood  service  centers,  and  centers  for  the 
receipt  and  distribution  of  other  meteorological  data. 

The  stations  of  the  Weather  Bureau  are  of  four  kinds:  (i) 
Those  manned  by  regular  paid  employees  who  devote  their 
entire  time  to  the  service  and  who  take  such  regular  meteor- 


ORGANIZATION  45 

ological  observations  and  perform  such  other  supervising  or 
research  work  as  may  be  required;  (2)  stations  where  persons 
are  employed  only  on  part  time  to  do  specific  work,  such  as 
reading  and  reporting  the  river  stage  and  rainfall;  (3)  co- 
operative stations  for  climatological,  weather-crop,  or  weather- 
road  service,  and  for  distribution  of  forecasts  and  warnings, 
the  work  of  which  is  performed  by  volunteers  who  receive 
no  compensation  for  their  services  except  copies  of  the  pub- 
lications of  the  bureau;  and  (4)  repair  and  vessel  reporting 
stations  with  full-time  employees. 

With  regard  to  the  carrying  out  of  their  particular  func- 
tions, these  stations  are  grouped  as  follows,  the  same  station 
appearing  in  either  one,  several,  or  all  of  the  groups  as  the 
case  may  be : 
Forecast  Districts: 

For  forecast  purposes  there  are  five  principal  districts. 
The  Washington  District  for  all  the  states  east  of  the  Upper 
Mississippi  Valley  and  the  Lower  Mississippi  River,  with 
the  central  point  at  Washington;  the  Chicago  District,  for 
the  Upper  Mississippi  Valley  and  the  northwest,  with  the 
central  point  at  Chicago;  the  New  Orleans  District,  for 
Louisiana,  Texas,  Arkansas,  and  Oklahoma,  with  the  central 
point  at  New  Orleans;  the  Denver  District,  for  Utah,  Col- 
orado, New  Mexico,  and  Arizona,  with  the  central  point  at 
Denver;  and  the  San  Francisco  District,  for  California, 
Nevada,  Washington,  Oregon,  and  Idaho,  with  the  central 
point  at  San  Francisco.  In  addition  to  these,  the  meteor- 
ologist at  Juneau,  Alaska,  occasionally  makes  forecasts  for 
that  territory  and  the  meteorologist  at  San  Juan,  Porto  Rico, 
for  that  island. 
Climatological  Districts : 

Each  state  is  arbitrarily  made  a  climate  unit  for  conven- 
ience in  administration  and  for  the  collection  and  publica- 
tion of  climatological  data,  except  that  the  New  England 
states  constitute  one  climatic  group.  Similarly,  Maryland 
and  Delaware,  Porto  Rico,  and  Hawaii,  constitute  each 


46  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

a  unit.  There  are  forty-five  units  or  districts.  One  prin- 
cipal station  in  each  unit  supervises  the  work  of  the  district 
under  the  direction  of  a  climatologist  who  has  the  title  of 
Section  Director.  Reports  are  rendered  monthly  by  mail. 

Crop  Reporting  Districts : 

Great  agricultural  sections  of  the  country  are  grouped 
according  to  the  staple  crops  cultivated  therein,  thus :  Cotton 
region,  corn  and  wheat  region,  sugar  and  rice  region,  to- 
bacco region,  etc.  In  some  cases  these  regions  overlap, 
and  small  regions  are  sometimes  comprised  wholly  within 
greater  regions.  During  the  crop  season  these  groups 
of  stations  report  by  telegraph  to  their  appropriate  section 
centers,  and  the  reports  are  given  wide  dissemination. 

River  Districts : 

Stations  reporting  river  and  flood  information  are  grouped 
into  districts  chiefly  by  rivers  and  their  immediately  contigu- 
ous watersheds,  each  with  a  central  station  within  the  dis- 
trict. Several  districts  are  engaged  in  handling  the  work 
for  large  rivers.  Reports  are  made  by  mail  or  telegraph,  as 
the  work  requires,  to  the  central  stations,  and  all  are  or- 
ganized under,  and  supervised  by  a  responsible  director  at 
the  Washington  office. 

Hawaiian  Volcano  Observatory: 

In  addition  to  the  stations  included  in  the  above  groups, 
there  is  an  observatory  at  Kilauea  Volcano  on  Hawaii 
Island  for  taking  volcanological  observations,  the  results  of 
which  are  published  in  a  monthly  bulletin  issued  at  Hono- 
lulu. This  station  reports  direct  to  the  Chief  of  the 
Weather  Bureau. 


APPENDIX  i 

OUTLINE  OF  ORGANIZATION 
EXPLANATORY  NOTE 

The  Outlines  of  Organization  have  for  their  purpose  to 
make  known  in  detail  the  organization  and  personnel  possessed 
by  the  several  services  of  the  national  government  to  which 
they  relate.  They  have  been  prepared  in  accordance  with  the 
plan  followed  by  the  President's  Commission  on  Economy 
and  Efficiency  in  the  preparation  of  its  outlines  of  the  organ- 
ization of  the  United  States  government.1  They  differ  from 
those  outlines,  however,  in  that  whereas  the  Commission's  re- 
port showed  only  organization  units,  the  presentation  herein 
has  been  carried  far  enough  to  show  the  personnel  embraced 
in  each  organization  unit. 

These  outlines  are  of  value  not  merely  as  an  effective  means 
of  making  known  the  organization  of  the  several  services. 
If  kept  revised  to  date  by  the  services,  they  constitute  ex- 
ceedingly important  tools  of  administration.  They  permit 
the  directing  personnel  to  see  at  a  glance  the  organization  and 
personnel  at  their  disposition.  They  establish  definitely  the 
line  of  administrative  authority  and  enable  each  employee  to 
know  his  place  in  the  system.  They  furnish  the  essential 
basis  for  making  plans  for  determining  costs  by  organization 
division  and  subdivision.  They  afford  the  data  for  a  con- 
sideration of  the  problem  of  classifying  and  standardizing 
personnel  and  compensation.  Collectively,  they  make  it  pos- 
sible to  determine  the  number  and  location  of  organization  di- 

1  House  Doc.  458,  62d.  Congress,  2nd  Session,  1912 — 2  vols. 

47 


48  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

visions  of  any  particular  kind,  as,  for  example,  laboratories, 
libraries,  blue-print  rooms,  or  any  other  kind  of  plant  pos- 
sessed by  the  national  government,  to  what  services  they  are 
attached  and  where  they  are  located,  or  to  determine  what 
services  are  maintaining  stations  at  any  city  or  point  in  the 
United  States.  The  Institute  hopes  that  upon  the  completion 
of  the  present  series,  it  will  be  able  to  prepare  a  complete 
classified  statement  of  the  technical  and  other  facilities  at  the 
disposal  of  the  government.  The  present  monographs  will 
then  furnish  the  details  regarding  the  organization,  equip- 
ment, and  work  of  the  institution  so  listed  and  classified. 


OUTLINE  OF  ORGANIZATION 
WEATHER  BUREAU 


DEPARTMENT   OF   AGRICULTURE 

August  19,  1921 

Organization   Units;  Number    Annual  Salary 

Classes  of  Employees  Rate  * 

1.  Office  of  the  Chief  of  Bureau 

Chief                                                                   i  $5,ooo 

Secretary                                                            i  1,800 

Messenger                                                          i  660 

2.  Office  of  the  Assistant  Chief  of  Bureau 

Assistant  Chief                                                 i  3,250 

Assistant                                                             i  1,800 

Stenographer                                                       i  1,200 

3.  Office  of  the  Chief  Clerk 

1.  Office  proper  of  the  Chief  Clerk 

Chief  Clerk                                                  i  2,500 

Assistant                                                       i  1,800 

Stenographer                                                 I  1,400 

Clerk                                                             i  i, 600 

i  1,400 

4  1,200 

Messenger                                                    i  660 

Electrician                                                    i  1,200 

Switchboard  Operator                                i  660 

Gardener                                                       i  1,000 

2.  Files  Section 

Clerk  in  Charge                                          i  1,600 

Clerk                                                             i  i, 600 

3.  Drafting  and  Photographing  Section 

Clerk  (Draftsman)  in  Charge                  i  1,600 

Clerk    (Draftsman)                                    4  1,200 

4.  Heat,  Light,  and  Power  Plant 

Engineer                                                         I  1,300 

Assistant  Engineer                                      i  1,260 

Skilled    Mechanic    (Asst.    Eng.)             i  1,000 

Fireman                                                        3  840 

5.  Carpenter  Shop 

Carpenter  in  Charge                                  i  1,300 

1  Net,  or  without  the  temporary  "bonus"  or  additional  compensation  of 
60  per  cent,  on  classes  below  $400,  of  $240  on  classes  of  $400  to  $2^00, 
and  of  an  amount  necessary  to  make  the  total  compensation  $2740  on 
classes  of  $2500  to  $2740.  This  is  subject  to  minor  exceptions  in  special 
cases. 

49 


THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 


Carpenter 
General  Mechanic 

6.  Paint  Shop 

Painter  in  Charge 
Painter 

7.  General  Messenger  and  Labor  Service 

Foreman  of  Messengers  and  Laborers 
Messenger  Boy 

Truck  Driver   (Skilled   Mechanic) 
Skilled  Mechanic  (Blacksmith) 
Skilled    Mechanic     (Packer) 
Laborer 


Charwoman 

4.    Stations  and  Accounts  Division 
Chief  of  Division 
Assistant 
Stenographer 
Clerk 


Messenger 

5.  Supplies  Division 

Chief  of   Division 

Assistant 

Clerk 

Clerk  in   Charge  of  Store  Room 
Skilled  Mechanic  (Chief  Packer) 
Skilled  Mechanic  (Packer) 
Laborer 

6.  Printing  Division 

1.  Office  of  Chief  of  Division 

Chief  of  Division 

Clerk 

Addressograph  Operator 

Mechanic 

Laborer 

2.  Composing  Room 

Compositor  in  Charge 
Compositor 

3.  Press  Room 

Foreman  of  Printing 

Pressman 

Mechanic 

Folder  and  Feeder 

4.  Lithographing  Section 


1,200 
1,000 

1,200 
1,000 

1,000 

600 

480 

1,000 

1,000 

1,000 

720 

660 
600 

360 

240 

2,750 
1, 800 

1,200 

1, 600 
1,400 

1,200 

1,000 

600 

2,000 

1, 800 
1,400 

I,2OO 
1,200 
1,200 
I,OOO 
660 


2,500 
I,2OO 
1,000 
I,OOO 

720 
600 

1,440 
1,350 

1, 600 

I,2OO 

1,000 

720 


OUTLINE  OF  ORGANIZATION 


Lithographer  in  Charge 
Lithographer 

7.  Telegraph  Division 

Chief  of  Division 

Assistant 

Operator 

Messenger 

8.  Library 

Librarian  in  Charge  (Meteorologist) 

Clerk 

Messenger 

9.  Editorial  Division 

Editor   (  Meteorologist ) 

Assistant 

Clerk 

10.  Forecast  Division 

1.  Office  of  the  Meteorologist  in  Charge 

Meteorologist  in  Charge 

Assistant 

Stenographer 

2.  Clerical   Section 

Clerk 


3.  Map  Section 

Meteorologist    in    Charge 

Observer 

Clerk 

4.  Observatory 

Meteorologist  in  Charge 
Clerk 

5.  Verification    Section 

Clerk  in  Charge 
Clerk 

11.  Forecasting 

Meteorologist  in  Charge 

Assistant 

Observer 

12.  Climatological  Division 

Climatologist  and  Chief  of  Division 

Assistant 

Stenographer 

Clerk 


13.    Agricultural  Meteorology 
Meteorologist  in  Charge 
Assistant 
Stenographer 


I 

1,500 

3 

I,20O 

i 

2,000 

i 

1,  600 

3 

1,400 

7 

1,200 

2 

600 

I 

2,520 

2 

1,200 

I 

600 

3,960 

1,  800 

1,400 

ii8oo 

1,400 

I 

i,  600 

I 

(Part    Time)  1,200 

I 

1,000 

I 

i,  800 

I 

1,440 

I 

1,400 

4 

1,200 

i 

1,620 

i 

1,400 

i 

1,  600 

i 

1,400 

i 

4,500 

i 

3,000 

i 

1,440 

i 
i 

2,520 
i,  800 

i 

1,200 

2 

1,  600 

5 

1,400 

6 

(i  Part  Time)  1,200 

2 

1,000 

I 

3,500 

I 

2,040 

I 

1,400 

52  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 


Clerk 


1,000 

14.    Marine  Division 


Chief  of  Division 
Assistant 
Clerk 

15.    Aerological  Investigations 
Meteorologist  in  Charge 
Assistant 


1,200 


2,000 
1, 600 
1,200 

2,520 
I,62O 


Stenographer                                                   I  1,200 

Clerk                                                                 4  1,200 

2  1,000 

Observer                                                          i  i,44O 

2  1,260 
Assistant  Observer  ^                                       3  1,080 

16.  River  and  Flood  Division 

Meteorologist  in  Charge                                I  3>96o 

Assistant                                                          i  1,400 

Clerk                                                               i  1,200 

17.  Solar  Radiation  Investigations 

Meteorologist  in  Charge                                 i  3,240 

Assistant                                                             I  1,40° 

18.  Seismological  Investigations 

Professor  of  Meteorological  Physics,  in 

Charge                                                          i  3>5°° 

Assistant                                                           i  1,260 

19.  Instrument  Division 

1.  Office  of  the  Meteorologist  in  Charge 

Meteorologist  in  Charge                          i  2,520 

Assistant                                                     i  1,800 

Stenographer                                             i  1,200 

Laborer                                                         I  720 

2.  Clerical  Section 

Meteorologist                                               I  1,620 

Clerk                                                             i  1,400 

Assistant  Observer                                   i  1,080 

3.  Testing  and  Designing  Section 

Meteorologist  in  Charge                         i  2,040 

Assistant                                                       I  1,620 

4.  Machine  Shop 

Supervising  Instrument  Maker  in 

Charge                                                    i  1,620 

Instrument  Maker                                    i  1,600 

i  1,440 

3  1,300 

20.  Stations 

Meteorologist  i  4,5oo 

Volcanologist  I  3,960 

Meteorologist.  2  3, 600 

7  3,000 

13  2,520 

3  2,500 


OUTLINE  OF  ORGANIZATION  53 

13  2,280 

28  2,160 

4  2,040 

64  i, 800 

67  1,620 

Observer                                                     105  1,440 

53  1,260 
Assistant  Observer                                      51  1,080 

54  900 
Vessel  Repairer                                             i  960 

i 
Apprentice  2 

3  720 
8  600 

15  480 
Printer                                                              i  1,440 

20  1,300 

I  1,200 

6  1,080 

Skilled  Mechanic  2  1,000 

Repairman  i  1,200 

8  1,000 

Laborer  12  720 

4  600 
Messenger                                                    n  720 

1 6  600 
Messenger  Boy                                               2  600 

93  480 


APPENDIX  2 

CLASSIFICATION   OF  ACTIVITIES 
EXPLANATORY  NOTE 

The  Classifications  of  Activities  have  for  their  purpose  to 
list  and  classify  in  all  practicable  detail  the  specific  activities 
engaged  in  by  the  several  services  of  the  national  government. 
Such  statements  are  of  value  from  a  number  of  standpoints. 
They  furnish,  in  the  first  place,  the  most  effective  showing  that 
can  be  made  in  brief  compass  of  the  character  of  the  work 
performed  by  the  service  to  which  they  relate.  Secondly, 
they  lay  the  basis  for  a  system  of  accounting  and  reporting 
that  will  permit  the  showing  of  total  expenditures  classified 
according  to  activities.  Finally,  taken  collectively,  they  make 
possible  the  preparation  of  a  general  or  consolidated  statement 
of  the  activities  of  the  government  as  a  whole.  Such  a  state- 
ment will  reveal  in  detail,  not  only  what  the  government  is  do- 
ing, but  the  services  in  which  the  work  is  being  performed. 
For  example,  one  class  of  activities  that  would  probably  ap- 
pear in  such  a  classification  is  that  of  "scientific  research." 
A  subhead  under  this  class  would  be  "chemical  research.'* 
Under  this  head  would  appear  the  specific  lines  of  investigation 
under  way  and  the  services  in  which  they  were  being  prosecuted. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  point  out  the  value  of  such  informa- 
tion in  planning  for  future  work  and  in  considering  the  prob- 
lem of  the  better  distribution  and  coordination  of  the  work 
of  the  government.  The  Institute  contemplates  attempting 
such  a  general  listing  and  classification  of  the  activities  of  the 
government  upon  the  completion  of  the  present  series. 

54 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  ACTIVITIES  55 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  ACTIVITIES 

1.  Administration 

2.  Weather    reporting    and    forecasting    and    distributing 

weather  maps  and  bulletins 

3.  Climatological  work 

4.  Work  in  marine  meteorology 

5.  Work  in  argricultural  meteorology 

6.  Work  in  aerology 

7.  Reporting  effects  of  weather  on  highways 

8.  Studies  in  meteorology 

9.  Reporting  and  forecasting  river  stages 

10.  Studies  in  solar  radiation 

11.  Studies  in  seismology 

12.  Studies  in  volcanology 

13.  Maintaining  and  operating  telegraph  and  telephone  lines 

14.  Testing  instruments  and  equipping  stations. 


APPENDIX  3 
PUBLICATIONS 

The  U.  S.  Weather  Bureau  issues  periodical  and  other  pub- 
lications, mainly  for  educational  purposes. 

Weather  maps  are  published  daily  except  Sunday  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  and  at  sixty- five  stations  throughout  the  country. 
These  maps  show  weather  conditions  for  the  United  States 
and  forecasts  for  the  districts  in  which  they  are  published. 
A  weather  map,  known  as  the  "second  edition"  is  published  in 
Washington,  D.  C.,  every  day  in  the  year,  and  shows  the 
weather  conditions  and  forecasts  for  all  parts  of  the  country. 

A  National  Weather  and  Crop  Bulletin  with  charts,  was  is- 
sued weekly  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  during  the  growing  season, 
prior  to  1922  giving  an  account  of  the  influence  of  the  weather 
on  crops  and  out-door  operations,  a  synopsis  of  the  actual 
weather  during  the  week,  and  summaries  of  such  information 
by  states  or  sections.  During  the  cold  season,  December  to 
March,  it  was  combined  with  a  report  of  snow  and  ice  condi- 
tions and  published  weekly  under  the  title  National  Weather 
and  Crop  and  Snow  and  Ice  Bulletin.  This  information  is 
now  published  in  the  National  Weather,  Crops,  and  Markets, 
issued  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

A  Monthly  Weather  Review  is  issued  containing  cli- 
matological  data  for  Weather  Bureau  stations  and  contribu- 
tions from  the  research  staff  of  the  bureau  and  special  con- 
tributions in  the  various  branches  of  meteorology.  Supple- 
ments to  the  Monthly  Weather  Review  are  published  from 
time  to  time,  each  supplement  or  series  of  supplements  being 
devoted  to  some  particular  study  or  investigation. 

Climatological  Data,  is  published  monthly  in  forty-two 

56 


PUBLICATIONS  57 

separate  sections,  each  section  corresponding  as  a  rule  to  a 
separate  state.  Each  section  is  published  at  the  central  sta- 
tion of  the  geographical  division  to  which  it  relates,  and  con- 
tains detailed  climatological  data  from  all  regular  Weather 
Bureau  and  cooperative  stations  in  the  geographical  division. 

A  monthly  bulletin  of  the  Hawaiian  Volcano  Observatory 
is  published  at  Honolulu,  Hawaiian  Islands. 

A  report  entitled  River  Gauge  Stations  on  the  Principal 
Rivers  of  the  United  States  is  published  each  year  and  con- 
tains an  account  of  the  floods  that  occurred  during  the  year, 
the  daily  river  stages,  a  detailed  statement  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  river  and  flood  service,  a  list  of  gaging  stations, 
gage  readings,  a  description  of  gages  and  bench  marks,  the 
length  and  drainage  areas  of  rivers,  flood  stages,  high  and  low 
water,  zero  elevations,  and  other  river  information. 

The  Annual  Report  of  the  Chief  of  the  Weather  Bureau 
is  published  in  octavo  and  in  quarto  form,  the  octavo 
edition  containing  only  the  administrative  report,  and  the 
quarto  edition  containing  also  a  summary  of  meteorological 
data  from  Weather  Bureau  stations. 

In  addition  to  the  periodical  reports  the  bureau  publishes  a 
series  of  "Bulletins"  at  irregular  intervals,  some  of  which 
are  numbered  and  others  lettered,  which  contain  the  results 
of  special  studies  and  investigations  in  meteorology.  "Cir- 
culars" are  published  occasionally,  containing  descriptions 
and  instructions  for  the  use  of  meteorological  instruments, 
methods  of  obtaining  and  tabulating  meteorological  records, 
and  other  information  for  the  guidance  of  observers 
and  others  in  the  regular  service  and  for  cooperative  observ- 
ers. 

Charts  are  issued  from  time  to  time  containing  such  infor- 
mation as  normal  annual  precipitation,  normal  annual  temper- 
ature, highest  and  lowest  temperatures  ever  observed,  mean 
relative  humidity,  frost  data,  length  of  crop-growing  season, 
etc.,  also  tables  for  making  certain  meteorological  computa- 
tions. 


APPENDIX  4 

LAWS 

(A)  INDEX  TO  LAWS 
Creation 

Weather  Bureau,   Department  of  Agri- 
culture 26  Stat  L"  653 

Personnel  26  £tat.  f •'  653 

Chief  of  the  Weather  Bureau  3°  ^tat.  L,.,  752 

41   Stat.  L.,  1315, 
1316 

Other  employees  26  Stat.  L.,  653 

30  Stat.  L.,  752 
41   Stat.  L.,  1315, 
1316 

Promotions  28  Stat.  L.,  264,  274, 

Changes  in  personnel  28  Stat.  L.,  727,  736 

Travel  allowance  37  Stat.  L.,  828,  830 

Functions 

Duties   of    Chief    of   Weather   Bureau  26  Stat.  L.,  653 

Meteorological    information    for   Hydro- 
graphic  Office  of  Navy  Department  36  Stat.  L.,  468,   508 
Collecting  and  disseminating  meteorolog- 
ical climatological,  and  marine  informa- 
tion, and  investigations  in  meteorology, 
climatology,    seismology,    volcanology, 
evaporation,  and  aerology  41   Stat.  L.,  1315, 

1317 

Maintaining  a  printing  office  in  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.  41   Stat.  L.,  1315, 

1317 
Publications 

Weather  map  24  Stat.  L.,  256 

58 


LAWS  59 

Printing,   binding,   and   distribution   of  28  Stat.  L.,  601,  605, 

documents  612,  615,  622 

30  Stat.  L.,  468 

Weather  signals  on  mail  cars  29  Stat.  L.,  99,  108 

Addressing,  mailing,  etc.,  of  weather  maps, 

weather  reports,  and  cards  permitted          37  Stat.  L.,  360,  414 

Supplies 

Meteorological  instruments  for  voluntary 

observers  26  Stat.  L.,  398 

Furniture,    fuel,    instruments,   and   other        41   Stat.  L.,  1315, 
supplies  1316,  1317 

Appropriations 

To  be  made  with  those  of  other  bureaus          <  cf  f    T      £ 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  at  u»  °54 

For  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1922  41   Stat.  L.,  1315, 

1316 

Miscellaneous 

Destruction  of  old  telegrams  31   Stat.  L.,  191,  204 

Counterfeiting  weather  forecasts  and  in- 
terfering with  weather  maps,  flags,  etc.        33  Stat.  L.,  861,  864 

35  Stat.  L.,  1088, 

1 100 

Sale  of  surplus  maps  and  publications  34  Stat.  L.,  1256, 

1258 

(B)  COMPILATION  OF  LAWS  * 

1886— Act  of  August  4,  1886  (24  Stat.  L.,  256)— An  Act 
Making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the 
appropriations  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  thirti- 

1  From  February  9,  1870,  to  July  I,  1891,  the  official  meteorological 
work  in  the  United  States  was  carried  on  by  the  Signal  Service, 
later  known  as  the  Signal  Corps  of  the  United  States  Army,  under 
the  following  acts  of  Congress,  which  as  far  as  they  relate  to 
meteorological  work  have  been  superseded  by  the  act  of  October  i, 
1890,  creating  the  civilian  Weather  Bureau  in  the  Department  of 
Agriculture:  Rev.  Stat.  221.,  meteorological  observations,  storm 
signals ;  Rev.  Stat.  222.,  signal  stations,  reports,  etc. ;  Rev.  Stat.  223., 
telegraph  lines  connecting  signal  stations. 


60  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

eth,  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-six,  and  for  other 
purposes. 

*  *  *  * 

To  pay  .  .  .  for  making  plates  and  publishing  weather  maps  .  .  .  ; 
and  hereafter  none  of  such  work  shall  be  done  except  under  specific 
appropriations  therefor  made  in  advance.  .  .  . 

1890 — Act  of  August  30,  1890  (26  Stat.  L.,  371,  398) — An 
Act  Making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  appro- 
priations of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending 
June  thirtieth,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-one, 
and  for  other  purposes. 

*  *  *  * 

.  .  .  the  Secretary  of  War  [Agriculture]  as  he  may  think  proper, 
may  cause  to  be  issued  such  meteorological  instruments  (not  exceed- 
ing one  set  valued  at  fifteen  dollars  to  any  one  county)  to  voluntary 
unpaid  observers,  in  order  to  secure  meteorological  data  from  such 
observers,  under  regulations  to  be  prescribed  by  the  Secretary  of 
War  [Agriculture].  .  .  . 

1890 — Act  of  October  i,  1890  (26  Stat.  L.,  653) — An  Act 
To  increase  the  efficiency  and  reduce  the  expense  of 
the  Signal  Corps  of  the  Army,  and  to  transfer  the 
Weather  Service  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

[SEC.  i].  That  the  civilian  duties  now  performed  by  the  Signal 
Corps  of  the  Army  shall  hereafter  devolve  upon  a  bureau  to  be 
known  as  the  Weather  Bureau,  which,  on  and  after  July  first,  eighteen 
hundred  and  ninety-one,  shall  be  established  in  and  attached  to  the 
Department  of  Agriculture,  and  the  Signal  Corps  of  the  Army  shall 
remain  a  part  of  the  Military  Establishment  under  the  direction  of 
the  Secretary  of  War,  and  all  estimates  for  its  support  shall  be  in- 
cluded with  other  estimates  for  the  support  of  the  Military  Establish- 
ment. 

*  *  *  * 

SEC.  3.  That  the  Chief  of  the  Weather  Bureau,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  on  and  after  July  first,  eighteen 
hundred  and  ninety-one,  shall  have  charge  of  the  forecasting  of 
weather,  the  issue  of  storm  warnings,  the  display  of  weather  and 
flood  signals  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture,  commerce,  and  naviga- 
tion, the  gauging  and  reporting  of  rivers,  the  maintenance  and  opera- 
tion of  sea-coast  telegraph  lines  and  the  collection  and  transmission 
of  marine  intelligence  for  the  benefit  of  commerce  and  navigation, 
the  reporting  of  temperature  and  rainfall  conditions  for  the  cotton 
interests,  the  display  of  frost  and  cold-wave  signals,  the  distribution 


LAWS  61 

of  meteorological  information  in  the  interests  of  agriculture  and  com- 
merce, and  the  taking  of  such  meteorological  observations  as  may  be 
necessary  to  establish  and  record  the  climatic  conditions  of  the  United 
States,  or  as  are  essential  for  the  proper  execution  of  the  forgoing 
duties. 

SEC.  4.  That  the  Weather  Bureau  shall  hereafter  consist  of 
one  Chief  of  Weather  Bureau  and  such  civilian  employees  as  Con- 
gress may  annually  provide  for  and  as  may  be  necessary  to  properly 
perform  the  duties  devolving  on  said  bureau  by  law,  and  the  chief 
of  said  bureau  shall  receive  an  annual  compensation  of  four  thousand 
five  hundred  dollars,  [now  five  thousand  dollars]  and  be  appointed  by 
the  President,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate ; . . . l 

SEC.  5.  That  the  enlisted  force  of  the  Signal  Corps,  excepting 
those  hereinafter  provided  for,  shall  be  honorably  discharged  from 
the  Army  on  June  Thirtieth,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-one,  and 
such  portion  of  this  entire  force,  including  civilian  employees  of  the 
Signal  Service  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  proper  performance  of  the 
duties  of  the  Weather  Bureau,  shall,  if  they  so  elect,  be  transferred 
to  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  the  compensation  of  the  force 
so  transferred  shall  continue  as  it  shall  be  in  the  Signal  Service  on 
June  thirtieth,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-one,  until  otherwise  pro- 
vided by  law:  Provided,  That  skilled  observers  serving  in  the  Signal 
Service  at  said  date  shall  be  entitled  to  preference  over  other  per- 
sons not  in  the  Signal  Service  for  appointment  in  the  Weather 
Bureau  to  places  for  which  they  may  be  properly  qualified  until  the 
expiration  of  the  time  for  which  they  were  last  enlisted. 

*  *  *  * 

SEC.  9.  That  on  and  after  July  first,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety- 
one,  the  appropriations  for  the  support  of  the  ...  Weather  Bureau 
shall  be  made  with  those  of  the  other  bureaus  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture 
to  prepare  future  estimates  for  the  Weather  Bureau  which  shall  be 
hereafter  specially  developed  and  extended  in  the  interests  of  agri- 
culture. 

1894 — Act  of  August  8,  1894  (28  Stat.  L.,  264,  273) — An 
Act  Making  appropriations  for  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth, 
eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-five. 

*  *  *  * 

.  .  .  Weather  Bureau,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  Agri- 
culture .  .  .  and  the  Secretary  is  hereby  authorized  to  make  promo- 
tions in  the  service  without  prejudice  to  those  transferred  from  the 
Signal  Service  of  the  War  Department. 

1  That  part  of  Section  4  permitting  the  detail  of  officers  for  duty 
in  the  Weather  Bureau  was  repealed  by  the  Joint  Resolution  of  July 
8.  1898  30  Stat.  L.,  752. 


62  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 


l895  —  Act  of  January  12,  1895  (2§  Stat.  L.,  601,  605,  612, 
613,  622)  —  An  Act  Providing  for  the  public  printing 
and  binding  and  the  distribution  of  public  documents. 

*  *  *  * 

SEC.  31.  All  printing  offices  in  the  Departments  now  in  operation, 
or  hereafter  put  in  operation,  by  law,  shall  be  considered  a  part  of 
the  Government  Printing  Office,  and  shall  be  under  the  control  of  the 
Public  Printer,  who  shall  furnish  all  presses,  types,  imposing  stones, 
and  necessary  machinery  and  material  for  said  offices  from  the  general 
supplies  of  the  Government  Printing  Office;  and  all  paper  and  material 
of  every  kind  used  in  the  said  offices  for  departmental  work,  except 
letter  and  note  paper  and  envelopes,  shall  be  supplied  by  the  Public 
Printer;  and  all  persons  employed  in  said  printing  offices  and  binderies 
shall  be  appointed  by  the  Public  Printer,  and  be  carried  on  his  pay  roll 
the  same  as  employees  in  the  main  office,  and  shall  be  responsible  to 
him  :  Provided,  That  the  terms  of  this  Act  shall  not  apply  to  the  office 
in  the  Weather  Bureau,  .  .  .  but  the  Public  Printer,  with  the  approval 
of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Printing,  may  abolish  any  of  these  ex- 
cepted  offices  whenever  in  their  judgment  the  economy  of  the  public 
service  would  be  thereby  advanced. 

All  work  done  in  the  said  offices  shall  be  ordered  on  blanks  pre- 
pared for  that  purpose  by  the  Public  Printer,  which  shall  be  num- 
bered consecutively,  and  must  be  signed  by  some  one  designated  by 
the  head  of  the  Department  for  which  the  work  is  to  be  done,  who 
shall  be  held  responsible  for  all  work  thus  ordered,  and  who  shall 
quarterly  report  to  the  head  of  the  Department  a  classified  state- 
ment of  the  work  done  and  the  cost  thereof,  which  report  shall  be 
transmitted  to  the  Public  Printer  in  time  for  his  annual  report  to 
Congress. 

The  Public  Printer  shall  show  in  detail,  in  his  annual  report,  the 
cost  of  operating  each  departmental  office. 

*  *  *  * 

SEC.  73.  Extra  copies  of  documents  and  reports  shall  be  printed 
promptly  when  the  same  shall  be  ready  for  publication,  and  shall  be 
bound  in  paper  or  cloth  as  directed  by  the  Joint  Committee  on  Print- 
ing, and  shall  be  of  the  number  following  in  addition  to  the  usual  num- 
ber: .  .  . 

Of  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Chief  of  the  Weather  Bureau,  four 
thousand  copies  for  the  Senate,  two  thousand  copies  for  the  House, 
and  one  housand  copies  for  the  Bureau. 

*  *  *  * 

Sec.  89.  ...  The  Secretary  of  Agriculture  may  print  such  num- 
ber of  copies  of  ...  reports  and  bulletins,  containing  not  to  ex- 
ceed one  hundred  octavo  pages,  as  he  shall  deem  requisite;  and 
this  provision  shall  apply  to  maps,  charts,  bulletins,  and  minor  re- 
ports of  the  Weather  Bureau,  which  shall  be  printed  in  such  num- 
bers as  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  may  deem  for  the  best  in- 
terest of  the  Government.  , 


LAWS  63 

1895 — Act  of  March  2,  1895  (28  Stat.  L.,  727,  736) — An 
Act  Making  appropriations  for  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth, 

eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-six.1 

*  *  *  * 

Salaries  of  the  Weather  Bureau:  To  enable  the  Secretary  of  Ag- 
riculture to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  October  i,  1890, 
transferring  the  Weather  Bureau  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture; 
.  .  .  and  the  Secretary  is  hereby  authorized  to  make  such  changes 
or  assignment  to  duty  in  the  personnel  or  detailed  force  of  the 
Weather  Bureau  for  limiting  or  reducing  expenses  as  he  may  deem 
necessary.  .  .  . 

1896 — Act  of  April  25,  1896  (29  Stat.  L.,  99,  108) — An  Act 
Making  appropriations  for  the  Department  of  Ag- 
riculture for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth, 

eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-six.2 

*  *  *  * 

That  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  in  cooperation  with  the  Post- 
master General,  may  arrange  a  plan  by  which  there  shall  be  displayed 
on  all  cars  and  other  conveyances  used  for  transporting  United  States 
mail,  suitable  flags  or  other  signals  to  indicate  weather  forecasts, 
cold-wave  warnings,  frost  warnings,  and  so  forth,  to  be  furnished 
by  the  Chief  of  the  Weather  Bureau. 

1900 — Act  of  May  25,  1900  (31  Stat.  L.,  191,  204) — An 
Act  Making  appropriations  for  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth, 

nineteen  hundred  and  one. 

*  *  *  * 

That  hereafter  all  telegrams  pertaining  to  the  business  of  the 
Weather  Bureau  may  be  destroyed  after  they  are  three  years  old  and 
the  accounts  based  thereon  have  been  settled  by  the  Treasury  De- 
partment; and  the  present  accumulation  of  these  old  telegrams  may 
be  destroyed. 

1905 — Act  of  March  3,  1905  (33  Stat.  L.,  861,  864) — An 
Act  Making  appropriations  for  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth, 
nineteen  hundred  and  six. 

1  Similar   provisions   are  contained  in  the  agricultural   appropria- 
tion acts  for  the  four  preceding  fiscal  years. 

2  Provisions  also  in  agricultural   appropriation  acts   for   1895  and 
1896. 


64  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

Any  person  who  shall  knowingly  issue  or  publish  any  counterfeit 
weather  forecasts  or  warnings  of  weather  conditions,  falsely  rep- 
resenting such  forecasts  or  warnings  to  have  been  issued  or  pub- 
lished by  the  Weather  Bureau,  or  other  branch  of  the  Government 
service,  or  shall  molest  or  interfere  with  any  weather  or  storm  flag 
or  weather  map  or  bulletin  displayed  or  issued  by  the  United  States 
Weather  Bureau,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  on 
conviction  thereof,  for  each  offense,  be  fined  in  a  sum  not  exceeding 
five  hundred  dollars,  or  be  imprisoned  not  to  exceed  ninety  days, 
or  be  both  fined  and  imprisoned,  in  the  discretion  of  the  court.1 

1907 — Act  of  March  4,  1907  (34  Stat.  L.,  1256,  1258) — An 
Act  Making  appropriations  for  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth, 

nineteen  hundred  and  eight. 

*  *  *  * 

.  .  .  hereafter  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  is  authorized  to  sell 
any  surplus  maps  or  publications  of  the  Weather  Bureau,  and  the 
money  received  from  such  sales  shall  be  deposited  in  the  Treasury 
of  the  United  States,  section  227  Revised  Statutes  notwithstand- 
ing; .  .  . 

1909 — Act  of  March  4,   1909   (35   Stat.  L.,   1088,   iioo)  — 
An  Act  To  codify,  revise,  and  amend  the  penal  laws 

of  the  United  States." 

*  *  *  * 

Sec.  61.  Whoever  shall  knowingly  issue  or  publish  any  counter- 
feit weather  forecast  or  warning  of  weather  conditions  falsely 
representing  such  forecast  or  warning  to  have  been  issued  or  pub- 
lished by  the  Weather  Bureau,  United  States  Signal  Service,  or 
other  branch  of  the  Government  service,  shall  be  fined  not  more  than 
five  hundred  dollars,  or  imprisoned  not  more  than  ninety  days,  or 
both. 

1910 — Act  of  June  17,  1910  (36  Stat.  L.,  468,  508) — An  Act 
Making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive, 
and  judicial  expenses  of  the  Government  for  the 
fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth,  nineteen  hundred 

and  eleven,  and  for  other^  purposes. 

*  *  *  * 

Hereafter  the  pilot  charts  prepared  in  the  hydrographic  Office 
shall  have  conspicuously  printed  thereon  the  following:  "Prepared 
from  data  furnished  by  the  Hydrographic  Office  of  the  Navy  De- 
partment and  by  the  Weather  Bureau  of  the  Department  of  Ag- 

1  It  is  a  matter  of  doubt  whether  such  of  these  provisions  as  are 
not  contained  in  the  act  of  March  4,  1909,  given  below  are  still  in 
force.  U.  S.  Compiled  Statutes  1901,  Supplement  1911. 


LAWS  65 

riculture,  and  published  at  the  Hydrographic  Office  under  the  au- 
thority of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,"  and  all  meteorological  in- 
formation received  by  the  Weather  Bureau  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  necessary  for  and  of  the  character  of  such  information 
heretofore  used  in  the  preparation  of  the  pilot  charts  shall  continue 
to  be  furnished  with  all  possible  expedition  to  the  Hydrographic 
Office  for  use  in  the  preparation  of  said  charts;  and  not  more  than 
two  naval  officers  shall  be  detailed  or  employed  in  the  Hydrographic 
Office. 

1912 — Act  of  August  23,  1912  (37  Stat.  L.,  360,  414) — An 
Act  Making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  execu- 
tive, and  judicial  expenses  of  the  Government  for  the 
fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth,  nineteen  hundred 

and  thirteen,  and  for  other  purposes. 

*  *  *  * 

Sec.  8.  That  no  money  appropriated  by  this  or  any  other  act  shall 
be  used  after  the  first  day  of  October,  1912,  for  services  in  any  ex- 
ecutive department  or  other  Government  establishment  at  Wash- 
ington, District  of  Columbia,  in  the  work  of  addressing,  wrapping, 
mailing,  or  otherwise  dispatching  any  publication  for  public  distri- 
bution, except  maps,  weather  reports,  and  weather  cards.  .  .  . 

1913 — Act  of  March  4,  1913  (37  Stat  L.,  828,  830) — An 
Act  Making  appropriations  for  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth, 

nineteen  hundred  and  fourteen. 

*  *  *  * 

Hereafter  officials  and  employees  of  the  Weather  Bureau  when 
transferred  from  one  station  to  another  for  official  duty,  shall  be 
allowed  all  traveling  expenses  authorized  by  existing  laws  applicable 
to  said  bureau,  notwithstanding  any  changes  in  appointments  that 
may  be  required  by  such  transfers;  .  .  . 

1921 — Act  of  March  3,  1921  (41  Stat.  L.,  1315,  1316) — An 
Act  Making  appropriations  for  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1922. 


WEATHER  BUREAU 

Salaries,  Weather  Bureau:  Chief  of  bureau,  $5,000;  assistant 
chief,  $3,250;  chief  clerk,  $2,500;  chiefs  of  divisions — one  of  sta- 
tions and  accounts  $2,750,  one  of  printing  $2,500,  three  at  $2,000 
each ;  clerks — eigfht  of  class  four,  twelve  of  class  three,  twenty-four 
of  class  two,  forty-eight  of  class  one,  nine  at  $1,000  each;  foreman 
of  printing,  $1,600;  lithographers — one  $1,500,  three  at  $1,200  each; 


66  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

pressman,  $1,200;  printers  or  compositors — two  at  $1,440  each,  six 
at  $1,350  each,  twenty  at  $1,300  each,  one  $1,200,  six  at  $1,080  each; 
four  folders  and  feeders  at  $720  each;  instrument  makers — super- 
visor $1,620,  one  $1,440,  three  at  $1,300  each,  one  $1,260;  skilled 
mechanics — one  $1,300,  three  at  $1,200  each,  thirteen  at  $1,000  each; 
engineer,  $1,300;  three  firemen  at  $840  each;  captain  of  the  watch, 
$1,000;  electrician,  $1,200;  repairmen — one  $1,200,  eight  at  $1,000 
each;  gardener,  $1,000;  messengers  or  laborers — twenty-eight  at 
$720  each,  six  at  $660  each,  twenty-two  at  $600  each;  messenger 
boys — eleven  at  $600  each,  one  hundred  at  $480  each,  charwomen — 
One  $360,  three  at  $240  each;  in  all,  $346,580. 

General  Expenses,  Weather  Bureau:  For  carrying  into  effect 
in  the  District  of  Columbia  and  elsewhere  in  the  United  States,  in 
the  West  Indies,  in  the  Panama  Canal,  the  Caribbean  Sea,  and  on 
adjacent  coasts,  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  in  Bermuda,  and  in  Alaska, 
the  provisions  of  an  Act  approved  October  i,  1890,  so  far  as  they 
relate  to  the  weather  service  transferred  thereby  to  the  Department 
of  Agriculture,  for  the  employment  of  professors  of  meteorology, 
district  forecasters,  local  forecasters,  meteorologists,  section  direc- 
tors, observers,  apprentices,  operators,  skilled  mechanics,  instrument 
makers,  foremen,  assistant  foremen,  proof  readers,  compositors,  press- 
men, lithographers,  folders  and  feeders,  repairmen,  station  agents, 
messengers,  messenger  boys,  laborers,  special  observers,  displaymen, 
and  other  necessary  employees;  for  fuel,  gas,  electricity,  freight  and 
express  charges,  furniture,  stationary,  ice,  dry  goods,  twine,  mats, 
oil,  paints,  glass,  lumber,  hardware,  and  washing  towels;  for  adver- 
tising; for  purchase,  subsistence,  and  care  of  horses  and  vehicles, 
the  purchase  of  repair  of  harness,  for  official  purposes  only;  for  in- 
struments, shelters,  apparatus,  storm-warning  towers  and  repairs 
thereto;  for  rent  of  offices;  for  repairs  and  improvements  to  ex- 
isting buildings  and  care  and  preservation  of  grounds,  including  the 
construction  of  necessary  outbuildings  and  sidewalks  on  public  streets 
abutting  Weather  Bureau  grounds;  and  the  erection  of  temporary 
buildings  for  living  quarters  of  observers;  for  official  traveling  ex- 
penses; for  telephone  rentals,  and  for  telegraphing,  telephoning,  and 
cabling  reports  and  messages,  rates  to  be  fixed  by  the  Secretary  of 
Agriculture  by  agreements  with  the  companies  performing  the  serv- 
ice; for  the  maintenance  and  repair  of  Weather  Bureau  telegraph, 
telephone,  and  cable  lines;  and  for  every  other  expenditure  required 
for  the  establishment,  equipment,  and  maintenance  of  meteorological 
offices  and  stations  and  for  the  issuing  of  weather  forecasts  and 
warnings  of  storms,  cold  waves,  frosts,  and  heavy  snows,  the  gaug- 
ing and  measuring  of  the  flow  of  rivers  and  the  issuing  of  river 
forecasts  and  warnings;  for  observations  and  reports  relating  to 
crops  and  for  other  necessary  observations  and  reports,  including 
cooperation  with  other  bureaus  of  the  Government  and  societies 
and  institutions  of  learning  for  the  dissemination  of  meteorological 
information,  as  follows: 

For  necessary  expenses  in  the  city  of  Washington  incident  to  col- 
lecting and  disseminating  meteorological,  climatological,  and  marine 


LAWS  67 

information,    and    for    investigations    in    meteorology,    climatology, 
seismology,  volcanology,  evaporation,  and  aerology,  $108,410; 

For  the  maintenance  of  a  printing  office  in  the  city  of  Washington 
for  the  printing  of  weather  maps,  bulletins,  circulars,  forms,  and 
other  publications,  including  the  pay  of  additional  employees,  when 
necessary,  $11,450:  Provided,  That  no  printing  shall  be  done  by  the 
Weather  Bureau  that  can  be  done  at  the  Government  Printing  of- 
fice without  impairing  the  service  of  said  bureau. 

For  necessary  expenses  outside  of  the  city  of  Washington,  inci- 
dent to  collecting  and  disseminating  meteorological,  climatological, 
and  marine  information,  and  for  investigations  in  meteorology,  cli- 
matology, seismology,  volcanology,  evaporation,  and  aerology, 
$1,300,110,  including  not  to  exceed  $697,080  for  salaries,  $129,040  for 
special  observations  and  reports,  and  $295,750  for  telegraphing  and 
telephoning ; 

For  investigations,  observations,  and  reports,  forecasts,  warnings, 
and  advices  for  the  protection  of  horticultural  interests  from  frost 
damage,  $9,000; 

For    official   traveling   expenses,    $30,000; 

For  the  maintenance  of  stations  for  observing,  measuring,  and 
investigating  atmospheric  phenomena,  including  salaries,  travel,  and 
other  expenses  in  the  city  of  Washington  and  elsewhere,  $81,020; 

In  all,  for  general  expenses,  $1,539,990; 
Total  for  Weather  Bureau,  $1,886,570. 


APPENDIX  5 

FINANCIAL  STATEMENT 

EXPLANATORY  NOTE 

Statements  showing  appropriations,  receipts,  expenditures 
and  other  financial  data  for  a  series  of  years  constitute  the  most 
effective  single  means  of  exhibiting  the  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  a  service.  Due  to  the  fact  that  Congress  has  adopted 
no  uniform  plan  of  appropriation  for  the  several  services  and 
that  the  latter  employ  no  uniform  plan  in  respect  to  the  record- 
ing and  reporting  of  their  receipts  and  expenditures,  it  is  im- 
possible to  present  data  of  this  character  according  to  any 
standard  scheme  of  presentation.  In  the  case  of  some  serv- 
ices the  administrative  reports  contain  tables  showing  financial 
conditions  and  operations  of  the  service  in  considerable  de- 
tail ;  in  others  financial  data  are  almost  wholly  lacking.  Care- 
ful study  has  in  all  cases  been  made  of  such  data  as  are  avail- 
able, and  the  effort  has  been  made  to  present  the  results  in 
such  a  form  as  will  exhibit  the  financial  operations  of  the 
services  in  the  most  effective  way  that  circumstances  permit. 

The  United  States  Weather  Bureau  receives  annual  appro- 
priations from  Congress  for  salaries  and  expenses  and  also 
benefits  from  the  allotments  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
for  printing  and  binding.  In  the  following  statement  the 
item  "salaries"  includes  both  the  amounts  appropriated  for 
salaries  of  the  Weather  Bureau  under  the  appropriation  head- 
ing "salaries,  Department  of  Agriculture,"  and  the  salaries 
included  under  the  appropriation  "general  expenses,  Weather 
Bureau."  The  item  "printing  and  binding"  shows  only  the 
amounts  allotted  to  the  Weather  Bureau  from  the  appropria- 

68 


FINANCIAL  STATEMENT  69 

tion  of  the  Government  Printing  Office.  It  does  not  include 
the  amounts  specified  for  "the  maintenance  of  a  printing  office 
in  the  city  of  Washington,"  provided  for  in  appropriation 
acts  under  "general  expenses,  Weather  Bureau/'  These 
amounts  are  included  under  the  latter  heading. 

Appropriations  include  all  deficiency  amounts  but  do  not 
include  "auditors  certified  claims."  These  are  generally  small, 
and  in  most  cases  their  inclusion  would  result  in  duplication. 
The  expenditures,  with  the  exception  of  1920  and  1921,  are 
figured  on  the  accrual  basis ;  they  include,  therefore,  the  total 
amount  expended  out  of  each  appropriation  during  the  three 
years  of  its  avalability.  The  figures  for  1920  and  1921  show 
the  estimated  total  expenditure  for  those  years. 


70 


THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 


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APPENDIX  6 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

EXPLANATORY  NOTE 

The  bibliographies  appended  to  the  several  monographs  aim 
to  list  only  those  works  which  deal  directly  with  the  services 
to  which  they  relate,  their  history,  activities,  organization, 
methods  of  business,  problems,  etc.  They  are  intended  pri- 
marily to  meet  the  needs  of  those  persons  who  desire  to  make 
a  further  study  of  the  services  from  an  administrative  stand- 
point. They  thus  do  not  include  the  titles  of  publications  of 
the  services  themselves,  except  in  so  far  as  they  treat  of  the 
services,  their  work  and  problems.  Nor  do  they  include  books 
or  articles  dealing  merely  with  technical  features  other  than 
administrative  of  the  work  of  the  services.  In  a  few  cases 
explanatory  notes  have  been  appended  where  it  was  thought 
they  would  aid  in  making  known  the  character  or  value  of 
the  publication  to  which  they  relate. 

After  the  completion  of  the  series  the  bibliographies  may 
be  assembled  and  separately  published  as  a  bibliography  of 
the  Administrative  Branch  of  the  National  Government. 

THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 
BOOKS  AND  PAMPHLETS 

American  association  of  state  weather  services.  Report  of 
the  first,  [third-fourth]  annual  meeting  of  the  American 
association  of  state  weather  services,  cooperating  with  the 
Weather  Bureau,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture.  Wash- 
ington, 1893-96.  3,  v.  (U.  S.  Weather  Bureau,  Bulletin  no. 

7,   H,  18) 

71 


72  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

Report  of  the  second  annual  meeting,   in    1893,   was 
published  separately.     An  account  of  it  was  published  in 
Monthly  weather  review,  v.  21,  p.  228-32. 

Bigelow,  F.  H.  Work  of  the  meteorologist  for  the  benefit 
of  agriculture.  (In  U.  S.  Dept.  of  agriculture.  Yearbook, 
1899.  Washington,  1900,  p,  71-92). 

Binckley,  George  S.  and  Lee,  Charles  H.  Suggested  changes 
and  extension  of  the  United  States  Weather  bureau  service 
in  California.  (In  American  society  of  civil  engineers. 
Proceedings,  Feb.  1915,  v.  41  :  251-258) 
Discussion  of  this  article  by  Frank  H.  Tibbetts  was  pub- 
lished in  the  Proceedings,  March,  1916,  v.  42,  p.  379- 

„ 382- 

Convention  of  Weather  bureau  officials,     ist,  Omaha,  Neb., 

1898.  Proceedings  .  .   .  Washington,     Govt.     print,     off., 

1899.  184  p.     (U.  S.  Weather  bureau,  Bulletin  no.  24) 

-  2d,  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  1901.  Proceedings  .  .  .  Wash- 
ington, Govt.  print,  off.,  1902.  246  p.  (U.  S.  Weather 
bureau,  Bulletin,  no.  31) 

3d,  Peoria,  111.,   1904.     Proceedings  .  .  .  Washington, 


Govt.  print,  off.,  1904.     267  p. 

Cox,  Henry  J.  Use  of  bureau  records  in  court.  (In  U.  S. 
Dept.  of  agriculture.  Yearbook,  1903,  p.  303-312) 

The  Weather  bureau  and  the  cranberry  industry.  (In  U.  S. 
Dept.  of  agriculture.  Yearbook,  1911.  Washington,  1912. 
p.  211-22) 

Does  the  Weather  bureau  make  good?  Answer  by  the  mari- 
time, agricultural,  and  commercial  interests  of  the  United 
States,  and  by  the  American  press.  [Washington,  U.  S. 
Weather  bureau,  1909]  65  p. 

Doublet,  E.  L.  Les  etudes  de  physique  du  globe  aux  fitats- 
Unis.  Bordeaux,  J.  Briere,  1918.  30  p. 

Eiffel,  Gustave.  Les  observations  meteorologiques  du 
Weather  bureau  de  Washington.  Paris,  Imprimerie  de  la 
Societe  astronomique  de  France,  1906.  27  p. 

Everhart,  Elfrida.     Weather  bureau.     (In  her  Handbook  of 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  73 

United   States   public   documents.     Minneapolis,    1910.     p. 

72-75) 

Frankenfield,  Harry  C.  Extension  of  the  river  and  flood 
service  of  the  Weather  bureau.  (In  U.  S.  Department  of 
agriculture.  Yearbook,  1905.  Washington,  1906.  p.  231- 
240) 

Gauss,  H.  C.  The  Weather  bureau.  (In  his  American  gov- 
ernment. New  York,  1908.  p.  757-72) 

Greenewald,  Mrs.  L.  H.  How  best  to  secure  and  retain  serv- 
ices of  voluntary  observers.  (In  American  association  of 
state  weather  services.  Report  1895.  p.  42-44) 

Haskins,  Frederick  J.  The  Weather  bureau.  (In  his  Ameri- 
can government.  N.  Y.,  1911.  p.  130-142) 

Heiskell,  Henry  L.  The  commercial  weather  map  of  the 
United  States  Weather  bureau.  (In  U.  S.  Dept.  of  ag- 
riculture. Yearbook,  1912.  Washington,  1913.  p.  537- 

39) 
Henry,  Alfred  J.     The  river  service  of  the  Weather  bureau. 

(In   Pan   American   scientific   congress,    2d,    Washington, 

1915-1916.     Proceedings,  v.  2,  sec.  2,  p.  671-675) 
Hermann,    Charles   F.   von.     How   farmers   may   utilize  the 

special  warnings  of  the  Weather  bureau.      (In  U.  S.  Dept. 

of  agriculture.     Yearbook,    1909.     Washington,    1910.     p. 

387-98) 

Kenealy,  James.  Weather  bureau  stations  and  their  duties. 
(In  U.  S.  Dept.  of  agriculture.  Yearbook,  1903.  Wash- 
ington, 1904.  p.  109-20) 

Manley-Bendall,  M.  Le  service  meteorologique  des  fitats- 
Unis  (The  United  States  weather  bureau)  Rapport  pre- 
sente  a  M.  le  ministre  de  1'instruction  publique  .  .  .  Bor- 
deaux, La  Societe  [d'oceanographie  du  Golfe  de  Gas- 
cogne]  1913.  54  p. 

—  II  servizio  meteorologico  degli  Stati  Uniti  .  .  .  Tr.  de 
Giovanni  Magrini.  Venezia,  Carlo  Ferrari,  1914.  39  p. 
(R.  Magistrate  alle  acque.  Ufficio  idrografico.  Pubbli- 
cazione  n.  59) 


74  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

Marvin,  Charles  F.  Organization  of  meteorology  and  seis- 
mology in  the  United  States.  (In  Pan  American  scientific 
congress,  2d,  Washington,  1915-1916.  Proceedings,  v.  2, 
sec.  2,  p.  768-79) 

Status  and  problems  of  meteorology.  In  National  acad- 
emy of  sciences.  Proceedings,  Washington,  Oct.,  1920,  v. 
6:  561-72. 

Moore,  Willis  L.  New  work  in  the  Weather  bureau.  (In 
U.  S.  Dept.  of  agriculture.  Yearbook,  1898.  Washing- 
ton, 1899.  p.  8 1 -86) 

-  The  Weather  bureau.      (In  U.  S.  Dept.  of  agriculture. 
Yearbook,    1897.     Washington,    1898.     p.    59-96) 

The  Weather  bureau  .  .  .  Presented  to  the  guests  of 

the   convention   of    weather   bureau   officials.     Milwaukee, 
Wis.,  Aug.  27-29,  1901.     Chicago,   1901.     19  p. 

-  [and  others]   New  problems  of  the  weather.     (In  U. 
S.   Dept.   of   agriculture.     Yearbook,    1906.     Washington, 
1907,  p.  121-24) 

Pague,  B.  S.  and  Blandford,  S.  M.  Weather  forecasting  and 
weather  types  on  north  Pacific  slope.  Portland,  Ore.,  1897. 
29  p. 

Polis,  Peter  H.  J.  Der  wetterdienst  und  die  meteorologie  in 
den  Vereinigten  Staaten  von  Amerika  und  in  Canada  .  .  . 
Studienreise  unternommen  im  auftrage  des  Kgl.  preuss. 
ministers  fur  landwirtschaft,  domanen  und  forsten.  Berlin, 
Parey,  1908.  43  p.  (Berichte  iiber  landwirtschaft.  Hrsg. 
im  Reichsamte  des  innern,  hft.  7) 

Rodes,  Luis.  Organization  meteorologica  en  los  Estados 
Unidos ;  su  desarrollo  progresivo  en  orden  a  la  navegacion 
y  a  los  intereses  agricolas.  Tortosa,  Alguero  y  Baiges, 
1917.  31  p. 

,Rolt-Wheeler,  Francis  W.  The  boy  with  the  U.  S.  weather 
men  .  .  .  with  72  illustrations  from  photographs.  Boston, 
Lothrop,  [1917]  336  p.  (His  U.  S.  service  series) 

Smith,  J.  W.     Speaking  of  the  weather.     (In  U.  S.  Dept.  of 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  75 

agriculture.     Yearbook,  1920.     Washington,  1921.  p.  181- 
202) 

U.  S.  Bureau  of  education.     Guide  to  United  States  govern- 
ment  publications.     Washington,   Govt.   print,    off.,    1918. 
206  p.     (Bulletin  1918,  no.  2) 
"Weather  bureau/'  p.  91-92. 

-  Commission  to  consider  the  present  organisations  of  the 
Signal  service,  Geological  survey,  Coast  and  geodetic  survey 
and  Hydrographic  office.  Limiting  the  printing  and  engrav- 
ing for  the  Geological  survey,  the  Coast  and  geodetic  survey, 
the  Hydrographic  office  of  the  Navy  department,  and  the 
Signal  service  .  .  .  Report  to  accompany  bills  H.  R.  9372 
and  H.  R.  9373.  Washington,  Govt.  print,  off.,  1886.  125 
p.  (49th  Cong.,  ist  sess.  House.  Rept.  2740)  Serial  2443 
The  Signal  service,  p.  55-64. 

—  Report  of  the  Joint  commission  to  consider  the 
present  organizations  of  the  Signal  service,  Geological  sur- 
vey, Coast  and  geodetic  survey,  and  the  Hydrographic  office 
of  the  Navy  department  .  .  .  [Washington,  Govt.  print, 
off.,  1886]  125  p.  (49th  Cong.,  ist  sess.  Senate.  Rept. 
1285)  Serial  2361 

The  recommendations  of  Messrs.  Morgan,  Herbert  and 
Wait  ...  as  to  further  legislation  required  to  place  the 
Weather  bureau  on  a  better  footing  and  their  views  in  sup- 
port thereof,  p.  55-64. 

Testimony  before  the  joint  commission  .  .  . 

Washington,  Govt.  print,  off.,   1886.     37,   1104  p.     (49th 

Cong.,  ist  sess.     Senate.  Mis.  doc.  no.  82)       Serial  2345 

-  Congress.  House.  Committee  on  agriculture.     Hearings 


relating  to  appropriations  for  the  Weather  bureau.  (In 
its  Agriculture  appropriation  bill,  hearings  [for  various 
years]) 

The  Weather  bureau  library  has  hearings   from   i9O4-date. 
-  Report  .  .  .  amending  H.  3988,  to  reorgan- 
ize and  improve  Weather  bureau.     Jan.  26,  1900.     Wash- 


76  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

ington,  1900.  4  p.  (56th  Cong.,  ist  sess.  House.  Rept. 
125)  Serial  4021 

Transfer   of   weather  service.     Report    [to 

accompany  H.  R.  282,  to  increase  the  efficiency  and  reduce 
the  expenses  of  the  Signal  corps  of  the  Army,  and  to  trans- 
fer the  weather  service  to  the  Department  of  agriculture] 
[Washington,  Govt.  print  off.,  1890]  6  p.  (5  ist  Cong.,  ist 
sess.  House.  Rept.  1043)  Serial  2809 

Committee    on    military    affairs.     Transfer     of 


weather  service.     Report     to     accompany     S.     1454. 
[Washington,  Govt.  print,  off.,  1890]   13  p.     (5 ist  Cong., 
ist  sess.  House.  Rept.  1687)  Serial  2812 

Senate.     Committee  on  agriculture  and  forestry. 

Appropriation  bill.  Hearings  [Feb.  5-13,  1907]  on  the 
bill  (H.  ,R.  24815)  making  appropriations  for  the  Depart- 
ment of  agriculture  .  .  .  Washington,  Govt.  print,  off., 
1907.  181  p. 

Hearing  of  Feb.  13,  "Weather  bureau." 
For  hearings  for  other  years,  see  similar  hearings  on  ap- 
propriation bills  for  Department  of  agriculture. 
Committee  on  military  affairs.     Report  [to  accom- 
pany bill  S.  1454  to  provide  for  the  reorganization  of  the 
Signal  corps]      [Washington,  Govt.  print,  off.,  1890]  5  p. 
(5 ist  Cong.,  ist  sess.  Senate.  Rept.  402)  Serial  2704 
—  Dept.  of  agriculture.     The  Weather  bureau  [work,  or- 
ganization and  duties]      (In  its  Yearbooks,  1899-  ) 

Joint  commission  on  laws  organising  executive  depart- 


ments. References  to  laws  organizing  executive  depart- 
ments .  .  .  [Washington,  Govt.  print,  off.,  1893]  175  p. 
(53d  Cong.,  ist  sess.  Senate.  Rept.  41)  Serial  3148 

"Weather  bureau,"  p.   121-123. 

—  Laws,  statutes,  etc.     Laws  applicable  to  the  U.  S.  De- 
partment of  agriculture.      Comp.  by  Otis  H.  Gates.     Wash- 
ington, Govt.  print,  off.,  1913.     61  p. 
"Weather  bureau"  p.  30-40. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  77 

Signal  office   (War  dept.)     Publications  of  the  U.   S. 

Signal  service  from  1861  to  July  i,  1891  (In  its  Annual  re- 
port,  1891.     Washington,   1892.       p.   389-409) 

-  Superintendent    of    documents.     Weather,    astronomy, 
and  meteorology ;  list  of  publications  relating  to  above  sub- 
jects   for   sale  .  .  .  Washington,    Govt.    print,    off.,    1921. 
n   p.      (Price  list  48 — nth  ed.) 

-  Weather    bureau.     Bulletin    no.     i — 44,     1892 — 1913. 
Washington,  Govt.  print,  off.,  1892-1913. 

These  bulletins  contain  many  articles  on  administrative  and 
technical  activities  of  the  bureau. 

—  A  chronological  outline  of  the  history  of  meteor- 
ology in  the  United  States  of  America.     Washington,  1909. 
20  p. 
Reprinted  from  the  Monthly  weather  review. 

Grouping     of     property  .  .  .     Prepared  ...  by 


the  Board  of  survey.     June  i,  1911.     Washington,  Govt. 
print,  off.,  1911.     13  p. 

Instructions  for  cooperative  observers.     Circulars 


B  and  C,  Instrument  division,  6th  ed.     Washington,  Govt. 
print,  off.,  1919.     39  p. 

Instructions  to  operators  on  the  U.   S.  Weather 


bureau   telegraph   and   telephone   lines.     Prepared  ...  by 
S.     P.     Minnick.     Washington,    Govt.    print,    off.,     1918. 

35  P- 

-  Instructions  to  special  river  and  rainfall  observers. 
By  Alfred  J.  Henry.  Washington,  Govt.  print,  off.,  1916. 
27  p. 

Instructions  to  the  marine  meteorological  observ- 


ers of  the  U.  S.  Weather  bureau.     3d  ed.  By  Henry  L. 
Heiskell.     Washington,  1910. 
A  manual  for  observers  in  climatology  and  evap- 


oration ...  By     Frank     Hagar     Bigelow.     Washington, 
Govt.  print,  off.,  1909.     106  p. 
The  marine  meteorological  service  of  the  United 


78  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

States.     Washington,  Govt.  print,  off.,  1919.     22  p.   (W. 
B.  678) 

Monthly  weather  review  and  annual  summary,  v. 

2-  Washington,  1874- 

Monthly   weather    review.     Supplement,    no.    i- 

Washington,  Govt.  print,  off.,  1914- 
Contain  articles  on  activities  of  the  Bureau. 

Report    of    the    chief  .  .  .   1891-     Washington, 


Govt,  print,  off.,  1893- 

The  Weather  bureau.     Prepared  under  direction 

of  Willis  L.  Moore,  chief,  U.  S.  Weather  bureau.     Wash- 
ington, Govt.  print,  off.,  1912.     39  p. 

-The    Weather    bureau.     Prepared    by    Henry    E. 


Williams.     Washington,  Govt.  print,  off.,  1921.     59  p. 
Weather  bureau  correspondence  files.     Washing- 
ton, Govt.  print,  off.,  1915.     34  p. 

"A  decimal  classification  for  indexing  Weather  bureau  cor- 
respondence,"    p.  9-34. 

Weather  bureau  exhibit,  Pan-American  exposition. 


By  D.   T.   Maring.     Washington,  Weather  bureau,    1901. 

4  P- 
Weeks,  John  R.     The  Weather  bureau  and  the  public  schools. 

(In  U.  S.  Dept.  of  agriculture.     Yearbook,  1907.     Wash- 

ington,  1908.     p.  267-76) 
Wells,   E.    L.     The   Weather  bureau  and  the   home-seeker. 

(In  U.  S.  Dept.  of  agriculture.     Yearbook,  1904.     Wash- 

ington, 1905.     p.  353-8) 

PERIODICAL  ARTICLES 

Abbe,   Cleveland.     How  the  United  States  Weather  bureau 
was  started.     Scientific  American,  May  20,   1916,  v.   114: 


Aeppler,  C.  W.  Are  beekeepers  asleep?  What  the  U.  S. 
Weather  bureau  can  tell  them  about  the  cellar  wintering 
of  bees.  Gleanings  in  bee  culture,  April,  1920,  v.  48: 
203-5- 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  79 

Alexander  William  H.     The  U.  S.  Weather  bureau  and  its 

work,      illus.     Cleveland     engineering     society.     Journal., 

March  1913,  v.  5:  321-338. 
Ames,    Allan    P.     Doing    business    by    the    weather    map. 

World's  work,  June,  1914,  v.  28:   186-191. 
Angot,   Alfred.     Le   service  meteorologique  des   fitats  Unis, 

.Revue  scientifique   (Paris)     April  22,  1876,  2d  ser.,  v.  5: 

397-401. 
Bliss,  George  S.     The  weather  business;  a  history  of  weather 

records  and  the  work  of  the  U.  S.  Weather  Bureau.     Scien- 
tific American  supplement,  Aug.  18,  1917,  v.  84:  iio-m. 
Bowie,  E.  H.     Work  of  the  Weather  bureau  and  its  relation  to 

transportation.     Scientific  American  supplement,  Nov.   17, 

1906,  v.  62:  25818-9. 
Clark,  C.  C.     Extensions  of  the  U.  S.  Weather  bureau  service. 

Monthly  weather  review,  Aug.  1916,  v.  44:463-4. 
Dodge,  C.  R.     Instruments  of  the  weather  service.     World  to- 
day, Nov.,  1906,  v.  ii :  1204-10. 
Edholm,  C.  L.     Airmen  and  the  Weather  bureau — partners. 

Scientific  American,  April  7,   1917,  v.   116:  342. 
Fassig,  Oliver  L.     The  work  of  the  Weather  bureau  in  the 

West  Indies.     Monthly  weather  review,  Dec.   1919,  v.  47: 

850-851. 
'Ford,  J.  A.     Uncle  Sam's  hired  men  who  serve  you.     Hoard's 

dairyman,  Oct.  15,  1920,  v.  60:  538;     Successful  farming, 

Oct.  1920,  v.  19 :  50. 
Gregg,  Willis  R.  Aerological  investigations  of  the  Weather 

bureau  during  the  war.     Monthly  weather  review,   April, 

1919,  v.  47:  205-10. 
Grosvenor,  Gilbert  H.     Our  heralds  of  storm  and  flood,  being 

an  account  of  the  various  activities  of  the  United  States 

Weather    bureau    in    saving    life    and    property.     Century 

magazine,  June,  1905,  v.  70:  161-78. 
Grouiller,  H.     Les  services  meteorologiques  aux  Etats-Unis. 

Revue  generate  des  sciences   (Paris).     May  15,   1921,  v. 

32 :  257-258. 


80  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU 

Highest  balloon  ascent  and  other  achievements  of  the  Weather 
bureau.  Scientific  American,  Jan.  13,  1912,  v.  106:  58. 

Horner,  Donald  W.  United  States  Weather  bureau  and  its 
work.  Nautical  magazine  (London)  June,  1919,  v.  101 : 

493-95- 

Inglis,  William.  The  thermometer  and  the  Weather  bureau. 
Harper's  weekly,  Aug.  19,  1911,  v.  55:  13. 

Lapham,  Julia  A.  Storm  signal  service.  Earth  and  air 
(Rochester)  Feb.,  1901,  v.  i :  3-5. 

"Shows  how  closely  the  late  Dr.  I.  A.  Lapham  was  asso- 
ciated with  the  early  struggles  of  the  Storm  Signal  service, 
and  how  it  is  only  through  his  untiring  energies  and  intense 
devotion  to  the  science  of  meteorology  that  we  are  enabled 
to  enjoy  our  present  magnificent  weather  service. — Edi- 
tor." 

Manley-Bendall,  M.  and  Perrotin,  Henri.  Organisation  et 
fonctionnement  du  service  meteorologique  des  fitats-Unis. 
Revue  generale  des  sciences.  (Paris)  Feb.  15,  1914,  v. 
25:  113-118. 

Many  receive  benefits  of  Weather  bureau's  service.  Weekly 
news  letter,  July  20,  1921,  v.  8:  i. 

Marvin,  C.  V.  Work  of  the  weather  men.  Cornell  country- 
man, Feb.  1917.  v.  14:  371-6;  Purdue  agriculturist,  Feb. 
1917,  v.  ii :  10-13;  Penn  state  farmer,  Feb.  1917,  v.  10: 

25-7- 
Moore,  Willis  L.     The  Weather  bureau.     Scientific  American 

supplement,  Jan.  25,  1902,  v.  53:  21802-3. 
Pearson,     S.     K.     The    Weather    man's    business.     Tycos. 

Rochester  (Rochester,  N.  Y.)  July,  1919,  v.  9:  10-12. 

Reprinted  from  Guaranty  news. 
,Rodes,  Luis.     El  "Weather  bureau"  de  los  Ee.  Uu.  y  la  cosecha 

nacional.     Iberica   (Tortosa)  June  9,   1917,  v.  4:  363-66. 
Smith,  J.  W.     The  daily  atmospheric  survey.     Ohio  educa- 
tional monthly   (Columbus)    1907,  v.   56:    16-20. 
Storm  warnings  for  herders  of  sheep.     Scientific  American, 

Oct.  7,  1916,  v.  115:  343. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  81 

Talman,  Charles  F.     The  farmer  and  the  Weather  bureau; 

the  latest  chapter  in  the  story  of  practical  meteorology  in 

America  and  its  application  to  agriculture  and  horticulture. 

Scientific  American,   Feb.    18,    1911,  n.   s.    104:    175-176, 

187-189. 
Tancredi,  A.  M.     II  servizio  meteorologico  negli  Stati  Uniti 

d'America.     Societa  geografica  italiana.     Bollettino,   Jan.- 

June,   1920.  v.  9:  99-115. 
Ward,  R.  DeC.     Recent  publications  of  the  Weather  bureau. 

American  geographic  society.     Bulletin,  Feb.   1910,  v.  42: 

IIO-I2. 

Willey,  D.  A.  To-morrow's  weather:  how  it  is  foretold. 
Scientific  American,  Feb.  2,  1907,  v.  96:  108-9. 

World's  greatest  weather  bureau.  Scientific  American  supple- 
ment, Nov.  30,  1907,  v.  64:  339. 

Yowell,  Everett  I.  The  Cincinnati  observatory — birthplace 
of  the  U.  S.  Weather  bureau.  University  of  Cincinnati 
record,  Jan.  1913,  v.  9:  10-12. 


INDEX 


Abbe,  Cleveland,  meteorological 
work  of,  3,  4. 

Academy  of  Science,  Chicago,  3. 

Aerological  Investigations  Divi- 
sion, 42,  52. 

Aerological  observations,  14,  29, 

3<>»  37,  42. 

Aerology,  work  in,  14,  29,  30,  37, 
42. 

Africa,  climate  of,  36. 

Agricultural  meteorology;  Divi- 
sion of,  41,  51 ;  work  in,  27,  28, 
41. 

Agriculture,  Department  of, 
transfer  of  meteorological  work 
to,  5,  6. 

Alfalfa  region  reports,  27. 

Anticyclones,  36. 

Assistant  Chief  of  Bureau,  Office 
of,  38,  49. 

Atmospheric  moisture,  35,  36. 

Automobilists,  information  for, 
30- 

Aviators,  forecasts  and  informa- 
tion for,  21,  29,  30,  42. 

Balloon  observations,  14,  29,  42. 

Bureau  of  Equipment,  Navy  De- 
partment, transfer  of  wireless 
apparatus  to,  n. 

Bulletin  of  International  Simul- 
taneous Observations,  13. 

Bulletin  of  the  Hawaiian  Volcano 
Observatory,  57. 

Cable  lines,  maintenance  and  op- 
eration of,  37. 

Canada,  Dominion  of,  cooper- 
ation with,  13,  37. 


Cattle  ranges,  effects  of  weather 

on,  28. 

Cattle  region,  reports,  27. 
Central   America,    storm   reports 
from,  23. 

Chief  Clerk,  office  of,  38,  49. 
Chief   of   Bureau,   office   of,   38, 

49- 
Chief     of     Engineers,     U.      S. 

Army,    meteorological    records 

of,  14. 
Chief  Signal  Officer,  U.  S.  Army, 

3.  4,  5,  10. 

Cipher,  telegraphic,  18. 
Climatological    districts,    45,    46. 
Climatological    Division,    40-41, 

SI- 

Climatological  work,  6,  7,  14,  15, 

24-26,  41,  56,  57. 
Coding    system,    telegraphic,    18. 
Coffin,  meteorological  work  of,  2. 
Cold-wave  warnings,   10,  22,  23, 

28,  40. 

Commerce    and    Labor,    Depart- 
ment of,  ii. 
Commissioner     General    of    the 

Land     Office,     meteorological 

work  of,  2. 

Cooperation,   International,    13. 
Cooperation    vwith    English    and 

French   meteorologists   in  war 

service,   37. 

Cooperative  observers,  25,  26, 

28,  30,  38,  40-41,  45- 
Cooperative  stations,  25,  26. 
Corn  crop,  effects  of  weather  on, 

28. 
Corn  and  wheat  region  reports, 

27. 


84 


INDEX 


Cotton   crop,   effects   of   weather 

on,  28. 

Cotton    region    reports,    27. 
Crop  reporting  districts,  46. 
Crops,  effects  of  weather  on,  28, 

41. 
Cyclones,  36. 

Duke  of  Tuscany,  I. 

Earthquakes.     See  Seismology. 

Editorial  Division,  39,  51. 

Emigrants,    information   for,   26. 

Employees,  number  of,  47-53. 

Engineer  Corps,  U.  S.  Army, 
meterological  work  of,  2. 

Espy,  James  Pollard,  meteorolog- 
ical work  of,  2. 

Evaporation  work,  35,  40. 

Evidence  in  courts,  weather  rec- 
ords as,  26. 

Farmers,  forecasts  and  informa- 
tion for,  6,  24,  26,  27-29,  30, 
41. 

Fire-weather   warnings,   24. 

Flags,  cold  wave,  10,  23,  24; 
storm,  23;  temperature  and 
weather,  10,  20. 

Flood  warnings,  10,  30-32,  42. 

Forecast  districts,  45. 

Forecast  Division,  40,  51. 

Forecaster,   Supervising,  20. 

Forecasting,  by  wireless,  10,  21 ; 
method  of,  17-20;  treatise  on, 

36. 

Forecasting  Division,  40,   51. 

Forecasts,   river-stage,  30-32. 

Forecasts,  weather  aerial,  twice 
daily,  for  aeroplane  services, 
21 ;  checking  up,  22;  district, 
8,  19,  22;  early — before  Fed- 
eral weather  service,  2-4;  for 
farmers,  24,  28;  local,  daily,  8, 
21,  22;  publication  and  distri- 
bution of,  7,  8,  20,  23;  ship- 


pers, local,  22  special,  9;  twice 
daily,  19-21 ;  utilization  of, 
6,  20-24,  29;  weekly,  10, 
22;  wireless,  for  vessels  at 
sea,  21. 
Forest  Service,  cooperation  with, 

24,  43- 

Fort  Myer,  Va.,  school  of  in- 
struction, 5. 

Frost  warnings,,  23,  24,  28,  40. 

Fruit  growers,  warnings  and  in- 
formation for,  23,  24,  28,  40. 

Fruit  region  reports,  28. 

General  Land  Office,  meteorolog- 
ical work  of,  2. 

Great     Plains,     cultivation     and 
rainfall  in  the,  28. 
Hail,  occurrence  and  distribu- 
tion of,  26. 

Hawaiian    Volcano    observatory, 

46,   57- 

Hawaiian  Volcano  Research  As- 
sociation, 34. 

Henry,  Joseph,  meteorological 
work  of,  2,  3. 

Highways,  effects  of  weather  on, 

3°\ 

Hurricanes,  warnings  of,  23,  40. 

Hydrographic  office,  Navy  De- 
partment, ii,  12,  27,  42. 

Ice  bulletin,  56. 

Indications.  See  Forecasts, 
weather. 

Industry,  benefit  of  weather  serv- 
ice to,  6,  26. 

Insect  pests,  time  for  spraying 
operations  for,  24. 

Inspection  of  cooperative  sta- 
tions, 26. 

Instrument  Division,  44,  52. 

Instruments,  equipping,  testing, 
and  standardizing  of,  4,  35, 
44. 


INDEX 


Instruments,  meteorological,  fur- 
nished to:  cooperative  observ- 
ers, 25;  Navy  Department,  37; 
War  Department,  37. 

Interdepartmental  Committee  on 
Wireless  Telegraphy  and 
Meteorological  work,  n. 

International  Congress  of  Me- 
teorologists, 13. 

International  cooperation.  13. 

International  weather  observa- 
tions. 13. 

Iowa  State  Weather  Service,  9. 

Journal  of  Agricultural  Research, 
40. 

Kilauea,  volcano,  34. 

Kites,  observations  by,  29,  42. 

Lanterns,  storm,  23. 
Lapham,   I.  A.,   3. 
Library,   39,   51. 
Loomis,   Elias,  2. 

Marine  Division,  41,  42,  52. 

Marine  meteorogical  work,  10-12, 
26,  27. 

Massachusetts  Institute  of  Tech- 
nology, 34. 

Maury,  Matthew  Fontaine,  mete- 
orological work  of,  2. 

Meigs,  Josiah,  meteorological 
work  of,  2. 

Merchants,  benefits  of  weather 
service  to,  6. 

Meteorological  observations.  See 
Observations,  meteorological. 

Meteorological  instruction,  5. 

Meteorological  records,  concen- 
tration of,  14;  evidence  in 
courts,  26. 

Meteorological     research,    4,     6. 

Meteorological  Society  of  the 
Palatinate,  2. 

Meteorological  studies,  14,  35, 
36, 


Meteorological  war  services,    14, 

36,  37- 

Meteorological  work:  by  civil- 
ians, 4;  by  commissioned  offi- 
cers, 4,  5 ;  by  enlisted  men,  4, 
5 ;  before  the  creation  of 
the  Federal  service,  1-3 ;  by  the 
Federal  Government,  develop- 
ment of,  6. 

Meteorologists,    congress    of,    13. 

Meteorology,  dynamic,   29,  42. 

Missouri  Weather  Service,  9. 

Mitchell  Astronomical  Observa- 
tory, Cincinnati,  3. 

Monthly  Weather  Review,  14,  15, 
26,  27,  39-40,  56. 

Mountain  snowfall,   36,  42. 

Myer,  Albert  J.,  Chief  Signal 
Officer,  3. 

National  Weather  and  Crop  and 

Snow  and  Ice  Bulletin,  56. 
National      Weather      and      Crop 

Bulletin.,  28,  56. 
National     Weather,     Crops     and 

Markets,  56. 
Navigation,    benefit    of    weather 

service  to,  6,  23,  27. 
Navy  Department,  10,  u,  12.  21, 

27>  37- 

New  York  State,  early  meteoro- 
logical observations  in,  2. 

North  Atlantic  and  North  Pacific 
Oceans,  summaries  of  weather 
conditions  over,  27. 

Northern  Hemisphere,  weather 
map  of,  10,  13. 

Observations,  meteorological ; 
aerological,  14,  29,  37,  42;  by 
balloons,  14,  29 ;  by  kites,  14,  29 ; 
climatological,  9,  24,  25 ;  early, 
before  Federal  weather  serv- 
ice, i,  2;  first,  by  Federal 
weather  service,  4,  7;  for  fore- 
cast purposes,  7,  8,  16,,  17;  in- 
ternational, 13;  nature  of,  7,  8, 


86 


INDEX 


17;  on  mountains,  14;  publica- 
tion of,  8;  purpose  of,  16,  17; 
records,  concentration  of,  14; 
records  as  evidence  in  courts, 
26;  utilization  of,  6,  16,  17,  26. 

Observations,  river,  10,  17,  30-32, 
42,  43,  46. 

Observers,  cooperative  voluntary, 
25,  26,  28,  30,  38,  40,  41,  45. 


Paine,  H.  E.,  member  of  Con- 
gress, 3. 

Patent  Office,  meteorological 
work  of,  2. 

Pennsylvania,  early  meteorologi- 
cal observations  in,  2. 

Physician's,  use  of  weather  serv- 
ice to,  26. 

Pilot  charts,  data  for,  27. 

Post   Office   Department,,  20,  21. 

President's  Commission  on  Econ- 
omy and  Efficiency,  47. 

Printing  Division,  39,  50,  51. 

Probabilities.  See  Forecasts, 
weather. 

Publications,  14,  15,  56,  57. 


Radio  telegraphy,  utilization  of, 
17,  18,  20,  21. 

Railroads,  utilization  of  meteoro- 
logical records  by,  26. 

Redfield,  William  C,  meteorolog- 
ical work  of,  2. 

Report,  annual,  of  operations,  57. 

Rice  region,  reports,  27. 

River  and  Flood  Division,  42,  43, 

5*. 

River  and  flood  service,  10,  17, 
30-32,  42,  43,  46. 

River  districts,  46. 

River  Gage  Stations  on  prin- 
cipal rivers  of  the  U.  S.,  57. 

River  observations,  10,  17,  30-32, 
42,  43,  46- 


River  stages,  reporting  and  fore- 
casting, 30-32,  42. 

Salaries,  47-53. 

School  of  instruction,  Fort  Myer, 
Va.,  5. 

Seismological  Investigations  Div- 
ision, 43,  44,  52. 

Seismology,  studies  in,  14,  32, 
33- 

Shippers,  benefit  of  weather  serv- 
ice to,  6,  23,  27. 

Signal  Corps,  U.  S.  Army,  co- 
operation with  during  world 
war,  37;  weather  service  in, 

i>  5- 

Signals,  cold  wave,  10. 

Signal  Service,  U.  S.  Army,  orig- 
inal organization  of  weather 
service  in,  i,  3,  4. 

Signals,  storm  and  wind,  2,  4,  6, 
9- 

Smithsonian  Institution,  meteoro- 
logical work  of,  2,  14. 

Snowfall,  mountain,  36,  42. 

Snows,  heavy,  warnings  of,  23, 
40. 

Solar  Radiation  Investigations 
Division,  42,  52. 

Solar  radiation,  studies  in,  14,  32. 

State  weather  services,  9. 

Stations  and  Accounts  Division, 
38,  50,  51. 

Stations,  Weather  Bureau,  44,  45, 
52,  53- 

Storm  and  wind  signals,  2,  4,  9, 
23. 

Storm  flags,  23. 

Storm  lanterns,  23. 

Storms,  warnings  of,  23. 

Storms,    West   Indian,    13. 

Sugar  region  reports,  27. 

Supplies  Division,  39,  50. 

Surgeon-General,  U.  S.  Army, 
meteorological  work  of,  2, 
14- 

Surgeon-General's   Office,   U,    S. 


INDEX 


Army,  meteorological  data  sup- 
plied to,  37. 

Telegraphic  Division,,  39,   51. 
Telegraphic    circuit    system,    18, 

19- 

Telegraphic  lines,  maintenance 
and  operation  of,  34,  35,  39. 

Tobacco  region  reports,  27. 

Tornadoes,,  damage  done  by,  26. 

Transportation,  benefit  of  wea- 
ther service  to,  6,  23,  27. 

Truck  region   reports,  27. 

Vessel  reporting,  37. 

Volcano  Observatory,  Hawaiian, 

46. 
Volcanology,   studies   in,    14,   33, 

34,  46. 

War  Department,  n,  21,  37. 

Warnings  of;  cold  waves,  10,  22, 
23,  28,  40;  fire-weather,  24; 
floods,  10,  31,  32,  42;  frosts, 
23,  24,  28,  40;  heavy  snows, 
23,  40,  hurricanes,  23,  40; 
storms,,  4,  6,  7,  13,  23,  40.  See 
also  Forecasts,  weather. 

War  service,  meteorological  14, 
36,  37- 


Weather  Bulletin,  20. 

Weather  cards,  20. 

Weather  charts,  synoptic,  8,  18. 

Weather  Crop  Bulletin,  monthly, 
9- 

Weather,  crops,  and  markets,  28. 

Weather  flags,  20. 

Weather  forecasting.  See  Fore- 
casting, weather. 

Weather  forecasts.  See  Fore- 
casts, weather. 

Weather  map  of  Northern  Hem- 
isphere, 13. 

Weather  maps,  20,  56. 

Weather  observations.  See  Ob- 
servations, meteorological. 

Weather  records,  evidence  in 
courts,  26. 

Weather  reporting,  method  of, 
17,  40. 

Western  Union  Telegraph  Co., 
3- 

West  Indian  storms,  13. 

Wheat    region    reports,    27. 

Wheat,  winter,  effect  of  weather 
on,  28. 

Wireless  stations  of  the  Navy  De- 
partment, utilization  of,  12. 

Wireless  telegraph,  transfer  to 
Navy  Department,  n. 


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DUE  JUN  9  1971 

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